A group of organized criminals in Hungary has been paying homeless people to rent luxury cars abroad and bring them back to the country to be sold on, investigators claimed today.

County police in the administrative district of Jasz-Nagykun-Szolnok, central Hungary, said a complex probe had revealed how “proxies” – often homeless – were paid to pose as well-heeled tourists making international car rentals.

They reportedly took out credit cards to hire the vehicles, before driving them back to Hungary and reporting them stolen. But in fact, gang crime bosses took the cars, changed their unique ID numbers to disguise their origin, and flogged them.

Police suspicions were aroused after crime statistics showed an unusually high number of car thefts reported in 2013.

The value of the fraud is estimated at US$ 2 million, and investigators have interrogated 55 suspects in connection with the theft of some 60 cars. The district court ordered the pre-trial detention of 12 people.

reportingproject.net