Muscat: Oman's police force says it will tighten controls and increase co-ordination with neighbouring countries to foil attempts to smuggle stolen vehicles out of the country.
Brigadier Suhail Bin Amor, Director-General of Criminal Investigation, Royal Oman Police (ROP), said vehicle theft was an international phenomenon that had now spread to Oman.
"An observable increase in car theft in the Sultanate is due to a number of factors that encourage the thieves to take a chance," Bin Amor said.
He pointed out that carelessness of vehicle owners was one of the major factors that encouraged thieves to steal vehicles in Oman. "They [vehicle owners] either leave their cars unlocked or parked with engine running or parked in deserted areas or with bags/valuables visible inside," he said.
Brigadier Bin Amor said there were several ways thieves could earn money by stealing vehicles.
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"They sell vehicles owned by car rental agencies or mortgaged to finance companies. When they buy mortgaged vehicles, they give the seller post-dated cheques," he said.
In the case of mortgaged vehicles, thieves even produce a legally documented sale contract, sourced from an advocate's office. "As soon as that is done, the vehicle is exported to other countries," he said.
"But when the seller tries to collect the cheque on its date, he/she discovers that it bounces, with zero cash balance in the account," Bin Amor said.
He stressed that crime combat squads had foiled several attempts to export stolen vehicles.
"A team is co-ordinating with police departments in neighbouring countries to arrest the suspects," he said.
Bin Amor advised car rental agencies to fix Global Positioning Systems in their vehicles so they could be tracked if they were stolen. He also stressed that these companies collect proper data from their customers and exchange it with the Royal Oman Police so the suspects could be apprehended before they left the country.
He also advised all those who fell prey to car theft to report to the police immediately by dialling 9999.
