Garth Rattray

I know many people who have been carjacked, sadly, some were even killed. In the recent case involving Dr. Kingsley 'Ragashanti' Stewart, his luxury Mitsubishi Pajero was stolen, gutted and abandoned.

Several people will knowingly or unknowingly purchase those stolen parts, perhaps at a 'steal.' Interes-tingly, the number one stolen vehicle in America is the pricey and luxurious Cadillac Escalade, which comes equipped with anti-theft electronic gadgetry, including a global positioning system. They too are routinely gutted and abandoned.

Dr. Stewart's case led me to seek out an expert in how crooks dispose of stolen motor vehicles. However, I was especially interested in knowing what happens when an entire car or SUV is stolen. I had an extremely informative session with a bright and perceptive private investigator that started looking into the matter of stolen vehicles some 16 years ago. He explained that Jamaican crooks are sophisticated and are using our current system of vehicle re-registration to carry out thriving businesses in stolen (and then cloned) vehicles. Cloning usually refers to the restoration of a vehicle to the specifications of another model, but in this case it means the disguising of a stolen vehicle to make it appear legitimate.

Several ways of disguising

Our network of criminals can disguise stolen vehicles in several ways. They sometimes alter a single number on the firewall and create false (compatible) entry documents to give the impression that the vehicles were recently imported as bargain-priced pre-owned units.

The firewall on a stolen vehicle is sometimes replaced with one from a front clip (the section that extends from the firewall to the front of the vehicle) that was imported as genuine parts. Sometimes crooks simply join the entire front clip to a chopped up stolen vehicle. Additionally, extensively damaged motor vehicles are sometimes salvaged and their legitimate identification used to replace that of the stolen unit.

Another very popular technique involves the 'washing' of registration certificates. The chassis number on a stolen vehicle may be altered to suit a genuine registration certificate or the registration certificate may be altered to suit the stolen vehicle. Crooks also utilise what the investigator refers to as 'the underworld industries' to produce fraudulent motor vehicle titles, registration plates, registration certificates, fitness certificates and insurance policies or cover notes.

Cloned vehicles can be sold anywhere, but they are usually advertised in the newspapers by crooks using throwaway cellular telephone numbers. Some even advertise clones as if they were legitimate units bought in government auctions. Cloned vehicles are extremely difficult to spot but they can be detected by a professionally executed detailed history check and/or the forensic restoration of obliterated serial numbers using a chemical process called 'etching.'

Most frequently stolen

The most frequently stolen (and therefore cloned) vehicles in Jamaica are the Toyota Corolla, Honda Civic, Toyota Hiace, Nissan Sunny and Mitsubishi Lancer motor cars, but high-end units from America, Germany, England and perhaps Japan are sometimes stolen and shipped here. Anyone found in possession of a cloned vehicle will be under suspicion, lose the vehicle (and the money paid for it) and perhaps still owe payments to a lending institution.

Purchasers of pre-owned vehicles should have a knowledgeable member of the constabulary inspect the unit before buying it (from whatever source). Buyers should scan the firewall for uneven or irregular numbers and scrutinise the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) plate(s). Insurance companies, finance institutions, the traffic police, traffic wardens and motor vehicle inspectors should organise regular seminars to hone their skills at detecting clones.

Dr. Garth A. Rattray is a medical doctor with a family practice.