US police baffled as Irish fraudster pulls off transatlantic car theft

AS CAR thefts go, this one was unique: an Irish-based thief stealing an SUV from the forecourt of a dealership on the far side of the US.

Police in the small town of Longview, in Washington State, have been left baffled and unable to pursue the suspect as both he and the vehicle are in another country.

Not content with hot wiring cars off the street or from a garage forecourt locally, this particular thief used three stolen credit cards to order the €8,500 Mitsubishi Montero from a salesman at McCord Brothers of Longview.

The vehicle was, by all accounts, shipped to Ireland after some negotiations via email, phone and fax.

The buyer, an Irish male, found the vehicle on the company’s website.

It was only when the credit card companies involved contacted the dealership to tell them the cards were stolen that the penny dropped.

Members of the garda stolen cars unit and the national fraud squad have not heard of a car being ordered over the internet using stolen credit cards.

“It would be unusual for goods of that nature to be successfully stolen via the internet,” said a source close to the Bureau of Fraud Investigation.

“You would have thought they would make sure the money was in the bank before delivering the goods. Perhaps they saw the dollar signs and nothing else.”

“I have certainly not heard of any US cars being purchased using compromised credit cards,” said one garda with experience of investigating stolen cars.

A right-hand drive SUV would stand out on Irish roads and it is more likely the relatively cheap seven-year-old vehicle will be broken up for parts.

Meanwhile, police in Longview have closed the file on the long distance vehicle theft.

Officers there told the dealership that all they can do is take a report because both the vehicle and the suspect are in a different country.

The credit card companies blamed the dealership, which will have to turn to its insurance company to cover the loss.