Nine members of a luxury car theft ring have been arrested in an international police operation in Belgium, Italy, and Spain.
The major action was coordinated with support from Eurojust and Europol, the EU crime and justice agencies announced on Tuesday.
The gang, active since early 2024, is accused of stealing over 100 luxury vehicles worth at least €3 million.
The thefts occurred in Belgium, Italy, Spain, and other EU countries, specifically targeting events attended by owners of high-end sports cars.
According to investigators, the group, mainly comprised of Moldovan suspects, forged documents and licence plates for the stolen cars.
Many of the vehicles were then shipped out of the EU in containers via the Port of Antwerp.
Italian and Spanish authorities uncovered a recurring pattern and similar methods used by the gang across multiple countries.
Eurojust began coordinating the investigations from October 2024, providing cross-border legal support. It also facilitated joint actions involving Belgian authorities.
Europol led the international phase of the probe, assisting national authorities through intelligence sharing and analysis.
The police operation included searches at around 20 locations. Four vehicles were seized alongside forged licence plates from various countries.
Crypto-experts from Belgium, Italy and Spain joined the searches to secure and recover illicit digital assets.
A coordination centre was set up at Eurojust, while Europol deployed experts and a mobile office to Italy and Belgium.
Investigators also confiscated key-cloning kits, tools for breaking into vehicles, signal-jamming equipment, as well as over €180,000 in cash and cryptocurrencies.
