The Guardia Civil and the Policía Nacional carried out a raid on a clandestine car workshop in Motril.

The arrested suspects are accused of belonging to a criminal organisation, of stealing vehicles, dealing in stolen vehicles, document forgery and money laudering.

The vehicles had been stolen from all over the European Union and brought to the illegal car workshop in Motril.

The combined police operation began in 2024, after the Guardia Civil Traffic Department detected false number plates on a stolen vehicle. Simultaneously, the Policía Nacional in Motril were following clues provided by the Junta de Andalucía’s regional police.

It soon came to light that both the Guardia Civil and the Policía Nacional were working on the same case so they pooled information and moved in on the clandestined, car workshop.

The modus operandi allegedly used by the arrested suspects was to manipulate the chassis and engine numbers on the stolen vehicles received and provide forged vehicle documents by using blank vehicle docs from different EU countries.

They then reportedly used a network of front businesses with false NIE documents (Número de Indentidad de Extranjero) to carry out car-ownership transfers and launder the money obtained.

So far, 20 people have been arrested and 13 stolen vehicles recovered with a total value of 600,000 euros.

(News: Motril, Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucia)

Keywords: Stolen Vehicles, European Union, Clandestine Car Workshop, Falsified Car Docs, Number Plates, Chassis Number, Engine Number, Arrests

news, andalucia, granada, costa tropical, motril, stolen vehicles, european union, clandestine car workshop, falsified car docs, number plates, chassis number, engine number, arrests