The foreign-used vehicle market in Trinidad and Tobago seems to be a hot destination for stolen cars from Japan. Japanese investigators are in Trinidad and Tobago following up on leads to stolen Japanese cars. The local authorities are vowing to make the business more secure.
Japanese insurance firms have sent a representative to this country, who is being assisted by local attorneys to recover vehicles which were seized by local police in 2004.The vehicles are believed to have been stolen in Japan, the Ministry of the Attorney General said in published notice yesterday.
The 16 vehicles recovered include a Honda CRV, a Toyota Rav-4, Prado and Land Cruiser, as well as five Mazda RX-8s and one Mazda Altezza and are stored opposite the Police Traffic Branch on the Beetham Highway in Port of Spain.
The ministry said that police officers of the Stolen Vehicles Squad and the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service seized motor vehicles based on information received from Interpol and the Japanese police that the vehicles were stolen in Japan and shipped to this country.
Trinidad and Tobago owners have until August 3, 2007, to state why their vehicles should not be returned to Japan. An officer at the Stolen Vehicle Squad told the Express yesterday: "If the Japanese insurance company decides to recover the cars they will have to either sell it here in Trinidad (to recover their loss) or send them back to Japan."
It appears the long time art of changing the chassis numbers on the stolen vehicles was the modus operandi of the groups operating the racket. "In many cases the documents were falsified by the people who steal the cars in foreign countries to facilitate the entry into other countries. Customs (and Excise) does not make investigations into whether cars are stolen or not. Once certain documents are presented they will be allowed into the country," Om Lalla said. Lalla is representing the Japanese interests in Trinidad and Tobago.
