Vehicle theft a global phenomenon - By Ali al Kasbi - MUSCAT — Brigadier Suhail bin Amor, Director-General of Criminal Investigation, Royal Oman Police (ROP), said that vehicle theft is an international phenomenon which emerged recently in the Sultanate. Brig Suhail explained that an observable increase in car theft in the Sultanate is due to a number of factors that encourage the thieves to take a chance.

These factors include lack of carefulness among the owners of vehicles who either leave their cars unlocked or parked with engines running or parked in deserted areas or with bags visible inside. Brig Suhail pointed out that the thieves have different ways of earning money by stealing vehicles. 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.

In this case, they 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. But when the seller tries to collect the cheque on its date, he/she discovers that it is a bounced cheque, with zero cash balance in the account, said Brig Suhail.
/> He affirmed that the crime combat squads have foiled many attempts to export stolen vehicles and that a team is co-ordinating with police departments in neighbouring countries to arrest the suspects.
Brig Suhail advised car rental agencies to fix GPS systems in the vehicles they rent so that they could track them if stolen. He also stressed that these companies must collect proper data from the people who hire the vehicles and exchange the data with the ROP so that the suspects could be apprehended before they leave the Sultanate.
He also advised all those who fall prey to car theft to report to the ROP immediately, using the emergency number 9999 and give the full details of their vehicles.