DEALING WITH VEHICLE CRIME

STUDENT A In Estonia, smuggling stolen cars is almost risk free?. Very few people in Estonia have been convicted for smuggling stolen cars?. Thousands of stolen cars come to Estonia ever

UNIT 10 DEALING WITH VEHICLE CRIME

INTRODUCTION

1 What is the link between cross border crime and organized crime?

2 What is cross border crime?

3 What aspects of car theft are you aware of?

4 Do you think that people must be imprisoned for smuggling stolen cars? Is this

such a serious criminal offence? Isn’t it enough to pay a fine, or to do some social work?

5 In the Border Police, is there a need for specialists in stolen cars or is the

assistance provided by the police forces enough?

Activity 1

In pairs, read one text and relate the facts in your own words to your partner Comment from the professional point of view and consider the social implications

of these circumstances

STUDENT A

In Estonia, smuggling stolen cars is almost risk free Very few people in Estonia have been convicted for smuggling stolen cars The laws are incomplete in the courts have yet

to rule on on matters of legal interpretation In contrast to the Interpol section of other countries, Estonian officers work a lot in the streets Thousands of stolen cars come to Estonia every year They arrive from all over Western Europe on ferries and overland from the south Most cars pass on to Russia Estonia’s involvement is usually limited as couriers deliver cars to buyers in the St.-Petersburg area Last year the Estonian police managed to return about 100 vehicles of which approximatively 20 had belonged to Swedish and 30 to German owners

STUDENT B It’s an open secret that Montenegro is the best hot car market in Europe: new models, priced to go Most of the inventory however, appears on Interpol’s list of stolen vehicles The International Police Agency has no authority here, for Yugoslavia- a pariah state- has no relationship with Interpol A long time member of a car theft gang explained how

the cars arrived in Montenegro: “The best method is to find someone in, say, Germany, who needs extra money and who is willing to have his car stolen We drive the car over, and the owner declares it stolen once it’s already here The owner collects the insurance policy plus a bonus from us, depending on what kind of car it is Few cars stay in

Montenegro or Serbia, and most often continue on to the Middle East.”

When talking about cars, smuggling means:

a) using a car in a robbery

b) using a car to transport illegal immigrants

c) illegal import and/or export of a vehicle (usually stolen)

d) using cars to transport illicit goods (contraband)

SMUGGLING The offence of importing or exporting specified goods that are subject to customs or excise duties without having paid the requisite duties Smuggled goods are liable to confiscation and the smuggler

is liable to pay treble their value or a sum laid down by the law (whichever is the greater); offenders may alternatively, or additionally, receive a term of imprisonment

Activity 2 ORGANIZED CRIME

The following definition of organised crime can be given, based on the practice of

fighting against such crime:

“ Criminal union organised for profit-seeking to commit diverse criminal

offences, with the assumption of meeting objectives through corruption, blackmail, terror

as well as the use of force and arms “

Exercise 1

Make sentences using some of the underlined words

1 Almost all criminal activity has as primary motive the idea of _

2 It is remarkable how varied and the criminal imagination can

be

3 There is evidence to indicate that more criminals are prepared to use _ nowadays, particularly as guns are relatively easy to obtain

4 Getting officials on your side, or to turn ‘a blind eye’ is indicative of the pattern of vital to any “successful” organised crime activity

5 The secret criminal organisation or _ is not a new phenomenon Even

medieval society had secret societies, some committing criminal

Exercise 2

Match the two parts to form sentences

1) Criminal groups dealing with a) in good faith or to persons receiving

stolen property

2) They are headed by the “boss” or

“organiser”, who

b) a stolen car abroad to a final buyer, as urgently as possible

3) These people, functioning in European

urban centres, pay

c) the task of moving stolen cars to new, safe places

4) Another quite wide group of criminals d) car theft and smuggling are almost

always hierarchically organized

5) Couriers are entrusted with the task of

transfer of

e) for thefts, supply false documents and contract “countries” which smuggle cars abroad

6) Another group of offenders engaged in

this activity are people entrusted with

f) deals with the financial side of the activity and “contract” thefts

7) Finally, stolen cars are supplied to a

buyer acting

g) are the car thieves themselves

Exercise 3

Re- arrange the words to make sentences

1 The theft/ is/ of/ serious/ a / automobiles/ problem/ world-wide

2 Vehicle/ can/ support/ profits/ terrorist/ organisations/ crime/ from

3 Trafficking/ mainly/ of/ criminal/ groups/ in vehicles/ is/ the work/structured and sophisticated

4 South Africa/ stolen/ criminal/ is / by/ groups/ as/ to export/ a transit area /

luxury/ vehicles/ used

5 Germany / an increase/ is/ in/ facing/ cars/ rental/ of/ thefts/ nationals/African/ by

6 Italy/ concerned/ are/ Greece/ and/ criminal/ at / groups/ Albanian/ smuggling/ are/ who/ engaged/ actively/ car/ in

7 Violence/ increasingly / as/ to obtain / is/ an / ‘modus operandi’/ cars/ luxury/ common

Exercise 4

IN MONTENEGRO, STOLEN CARS ARE WORTH THEIR WEIGHT IN

MEAT!

Put in one correct word from the box There are 18 words in total

TENUOUS/ DIPLOMATIC/ DIRTY/ SHUT/ BUNCH/ LUXURY/ ANXIOUS/ HOT/ WEALTHY/ STOLEN/ UP/ NOTORIOUS/ LIFE/ SALARY/ ISOLATE/ ALLIED/ MAIN/ SIMILAR/

At a time when Montenegro’s political situation is (1) …… , Western countries are inclined to look the other way at Montenegro’s (2) …… little secret

Montenegro is a key part of the West’s effort to (3) …… Yugoslav President Slobodan Molosevic, indicted for war crimes last year by the Hague Tribunal Montenegro’s

President Milo Djukanovic has (4) …….himself with the West and has consequently received financial and (5) ……… blessings from the European Union

Though Montenegro is (6) ……… as a place teeming with stolen goods, Western

countries are (7) ……… to protect the republic’s image While the Milosevic regime often categorized the Djukanovic administration as a (8) …… of criminals and

smugglers, the West points to the Djukanovic government as an example of ethnic

tolerance that is a model for the Balkans

Meanwhile, Montenegrins are reaping the fruits of a shady trade.The deals don’t stop at cars Podgorica’s (9) … street, Sloboda Ulica (Freedom Street), is filled with people dressed in Italy’s latest fashions, their (10) … cars parked in front of busy cafes, where mobile phones lie next to cups of expresso and ashtrays

A visitor would never guess that Montenegro’s average monthly (11) … is less than $

100 per month Montenegrins have a reputation in the Balkans for valuing a good (12)

… “Visitors often say that it seems nobody does anything in Podgorica, That the cafes

Yet there is hardly any industry to provide jobs for Montenegro’s 600,000 citizens, aside from a smattering of fishing, textile and tourism Factories are (13) … down The

republic imports much of its food

The (14) …… car trade could be seen as a legacy of Montenegro’s geographical

location and history With (15) …… Italy to the West, and Balkan conflicts in other

directions, Montenegro is a natural transit point for goods across the Balkans

In their defence, Montenegrins say they’re only doing what they’ve done for hundreds of years This independent people eked out a living for centuries on one of the most

inhospitable pieces of European territory while surrounded by Ottoman Turks The land

is so undesirable that the Turks simply gave (16) … trying to conquer what was then a

much smaller Montenegro

Just as they receive Western patronage today for their role as a buffer state, in the 19th-

century Russia supported Montenegro for (17) …… political reasons In this context,

Montenegrins spent centuries raiding and smuggling to survive

(18) …… cars can be seen as part of that tradition

Match PART A with the correct and appropriate PART B

1 Are you the owner of the vehicle? A Certainly, officer Here it is Is there

any problem?

2 Get out of the car and open the boot,

please

B I didn’t notice it at all My papers are

in order

3 The customs seal applied to the door

of your vehicle shows indications of

having been tampered with

C Right away, officer

4 You can’t continue your trip because

you had a serious accident on

Romanian territory

D Yes, here are the documents

5 When and under what circumstances

did you make the hiding place for the

illegal exit of a foreign citizen?

E It wasn’t my fault, but I do want to clarify everything regarding the accident

6 I must inform you that this is a signed

and authorised statement of the

offence in question

F I don’t want to speak about this, I need a lawyer

7 We intend to prosecute you and you’ll

go on trial

G Give me the statement, please

8 What is your relationship with the

person found hiding in your car

H Yes, I did

9 Show me the bill of sale for the

vehicle, please

I I met him near the border, on the main road He begged me to take him

10 Did you buy this car abroad? J I have the right to have an official

lawyer

Exercise 6

Circle the synonym (s) of the following words

SHOW: a) express b) display c) protect d) polish e) exhibit SERIOUS: a) grave b) solemn c) trivial d) light e) petty

FOREIGN: a) strange b) domestic c) alien d) native e) rural

HIDE: a) mask b) expose c) cover d) reveal e) conceal ABROAD a) near b) overseas c) close d) far away e) distant

Activity 4

Comment on the statement below and write a short composition (200 words) :

“ Violence is an increasingly common ‘modus operandi’ to obtain luxury cars for

trafficking.”

Activity 5

Read the text carefully and make an imaginary dialogue between the Swedish

officer and the car smuggler Choose the moment when the officer is checking the passport and the visa

ESTONIAN CAR SMUGGLERS

On the Swedish visa officer's desk the visa applications pile up Earlier the same morning he had found a false passport of a known car smuggler Frowning, he compares the photograph in the passport with the ones in two visa applications, one old and one new "This passport is false," he concludes and puts it away to give it to the Estonian police The Swedish Embassy has information on about 60 people who have been known

to be involved in car smuggling in Europe and therefore are not granted visas Some of these are known by the staff after trying too often to get a visa

Currently several north European governments are discussing abolishing the visa requirement for Estonians "The consequence is that you completely lose control over who will come to your country," says the Swedish Embassy Of course, there are competing interests Business would benefit from an abolishment Several people the reporter has spoken to at the Swedish Embassy stress that Estonia is on the right track compared to Lithuania, Latvia and Russia They believe that Estonia is readier and more suitable for European Union membership than the other two Baltic states

Corruption is on the decrease and the Soviet system is losing ground Interpol and several other institutions get good marks The institutions are new and the staff is young Lack of experience is balanced by a strong will to rectify the problems Also, the Embassy officials stress that car smuggling is mainly a problem for the countries from where the cars disappear "You just can’t complain about the Estonians and say that it is their fault."

At the car market

Under a pine tree in Kadaka car market in the outskirts of Tallinn a BMW 730 is parked

As we come closer a man appears from the van parked next to it He wears a blue winter jacket which is tight around his fat belly and the man definitely needs a shave "It is a nice car," he explains to us in Russian "It was bought in Kiev only two weeks ago, and all the documents are in perfect order." His golden teeth glitter as he assures us that there are no problems whatsoever with the car And it is a very nice car, and even better, the price is only $ 10,800 In Sweden, a similar car is twice as expensive

Exercise 7

Decide if the following sentences are true or false (T / F) or not stated (NOT STATED)

1.A Swedish officer has discovered a false passport carried by a known car smuggler _

2 The car smuggler’s photograph was new on the passport and old on the driving licence _

3 The Swedish Embassy has information about sixty Estonian car smugglers _

4 There is a discussion about abolishing the visa requirement for Estonians

5 Estonia is likely to be invited to apply for European Union membership

6 The car smuggler from the market has no teeth _

7 The car was nice but has no documents and was very expensive _

8 In Sweden the cars are twice expensive than in Estonia _

Activity 6 Theft of a motor vehicle

Comment on the definition of motor vehicle theft

According to the standard definition, theft means depriving a person/organisation of property without force with the intent to keep it Most countries include offences relating

to motorboats and receiving/handling stolen vehicles but some countries have

“loopholes” in their law relating to these aspects How is this a disadvantage to European police activities?

According to Romanian law, decide on the legal liability of all parties concerned in this case study Consider the implications

A Romanian citizen is offered a 2001 BMW for 8000 US$ which is far below its real value

The seller states that the car was bought in Germany from a reliable dealer and that the papers are in order The prospective buyer looks at the documents, sees that there seems

to be no proof of purchase but is satisfied that the seller is the legal owner of the car as his name is on the (German) registration book He pays the money and receives the car and its documents

When the Romanian takes the car for registration, he is informed that the car is on a list

of stolen vehicles that has been circulated by Europol He is informed that he will be charged with a criminal offence

Activity 7

Make a dialogue ( in English!) between the buyer and a police officer

Activity 8 Homework task or just for fun?

International vehicle registration

Read the names of some European countries and their capitals and then match the

international identification letters with the right country

e.g CROATIA/ ZAGREB/ HR SWITZERLAND/ BERN/ CH

International Identification Letters

AL F BY L RUS SK UA V TR GB

FL PL LT N DK BG AND IRL LV MK BIH A MC I H RO M IS MD P

GR EST D FIN CZ CH NL SLO B HR RSM E S

ANDORRA LA VELLA / VIENNA/ SOFIA/ COPENHAGEN/ REYKJAVIK/ HELSINKI/ SARAJEVO/ DUBLIN

TALLIN/ ATHENS/ MINSK/ PARIS/ BERLIN/ RIGA/ / VADUZ/ CHISINAU / VALLETA/ PODGORICA / OSLO BRUSSELS/ PRAGUE/ BUDAPEST/ ROME/ LUXEMBURG/ SKOPJE/ VILNIUS/ MONTE CARLO/ / KIEV

SAN MARINO/ BRATISLAVA/ / BELGRADE/ / LJUBLJANA/ AMSTERDAM/ / LISBON/ WARSAW/

BUCHAREST/ MADRID/ / MOSCOW/ / STOCKHOLM/ / ANKARA/ LONDON /

10 DENMARK

11 ESTONIA

12 FRANCE

13 FINLAND

14 GERMANY

15 GREECE

16 HUNGARY

17 ICELAND

18 IRELAND

19 ITALY

20 LATVIA

21 LIECHTENSTEIN

22 LUXEMBOURG

23 LITHUANIA

24 MACEDONIA

25 MALTA

26 MOLDOVA

27 MONACO

28 MONTENEGRO

29 NORWAY

30 NETHERLANDS

31 PORTUGAL

32 POLAND

33 ROMANIA

34 RUSSIA

35 SAN MARINO

36 SERBIA

37 SLOVAKIA

38 SLOVENIA

39 SPAIN

40 SWEDEN

42 TURKEY

Activity 9

Listen to the text and complete the table

1 What is the estimated value

of motorbikes stolen every

month in UK?

1

2 The NCIS report is a prelude

to … What?

2

3 More thefts occur… Where? 3

4 In the Metropolitan Police

area of London, what

percentage of thefts occur?

4

5 Is this unexpectedly high for

the country?

5

6 Thefts show a correlation

with patterns of … ?

6

(What does this mean?)

7 The top 4 makes of bikes

account for … of all thefts

7

( Honda, Kawasaki, S…… and Y …… ) in UK

8 What do you know about

recovery rates?

8

9 One simple modus operandi 9

10 How many bikes are stolen

per month?

10

11 These stolen bikes are… 11 a) ……… b)………… c) ……… or d) split ……

12 Some people knowingly … 12

13 Some councils have

invested in …

13

(What are these?)

14 Who should be vigilant? 14

15 What is the public

programme of passing

information to the police called?

15