Sharjah: Police have arrested a person on charges of stealing and smuggling cars from the UAE to Iraq.
The suspect, an Iraqi national, allegedly used fake registration certificates to avoid arousing suspicion about the stolen vehicles.
The suspect is identified as G.A.M.
A police investigation reached the conclusion that the suspect was part of a car smuggling gang targeting cars mostly in the sandy areas of Sharjah.
Investigations revealed that the suspect had been deported from the country in the past for similar crimes but had entered the country when his penalty period ended.
A special police team was formed after a man lodged a complaint with police that his Lexus was stolen two years ago from Al Majaz area
Police suspected a car moving on Sharjah road with the same features of the stolen car two years after it was reported stolen.
The suspect was arrested but denied the charges against him claiming that another man brought the car from Iraq and sold it to him.
Police sent the car to the forensic laboratory which confirmed the car was the same one stolen two years ago.
The The suspect confessed to his crime and based on his confession, the case has been referred to the Public Prosecution in Sharjah.
Colonel Jihad Sahoo, Director of criminal investigation department has urged automobile garages not to repair any vehicles without official papers to ascertain the identity of their owners, and warned that they would be held liable for stolen vehicles fixed at their establishments.
The warnings came in light of cases of stolen vehicles in the possession of criminals or repaired clandestinely to conceal damage from accidents.
The police also called on car owners to avoid leaving their cars unattended with the engines running and to take care to lock their vehicles.
