A car theft and sales network has been dismantled in Córdoba
During the raids, the police seized forty stolen pickup truck wheels
porEditorial Team
Argentina
A seized cellphone made it possible to uncover a criminal organization that operated in neighborhoods of the capital and in the mountains
The investigation began after a vehicle was stolen from a rideshare driver, whose car was recovered with an altered license plate at a residence. A key cellphone belonging to one of the main suspects was seized there, which became the starting point of the case. The analysis of the device allowed the investigation to go beyond the initial incident and uncover an organized criminal structure.
The investigators from the Vehicle Theft Unit decided to review the phone's data under a court order, accessing messages, audio files, and photographs. What they found not only confirmed the specific theft but also revealed information about a gang dedicated to vehicle theft. In addition, it was discovered that the vehicles had different destinations depending on their age and market value.
The older cars were dismantled and their parts entered the illegal auto parts market, which remains active in the region. The newer vehicles, meanwhile, were transported to northern provinces of the country to be sold with forged documentation. Thirteen months after that initial discovery, the investigation led to a series of raids in Córdoba Capital.
Los procedimientos simultáneos permitieron detener a doce personas
How the organization operated and what the Police discovered
The simultaneous operations allowed twelve people to be arrested, including the alleged ringleader known as "El Michael." The man had a graphic workshop where vehicle papers and license plates were forged. During the operations, ten cars with seizure orders were also seized, along with forty stolen pickup truck wheels and several cellphones.
The investigation determined that the group operated through interconnected cells that performed different tasks in the criminal chain. There were those who stole cars, those who took pickup trucks, those who stored the vehicles, and those responsible for dismantling them into parts. Others were in charge of transporting the vehicles to the north with altered documentation, where they were resold or even exchanged for drugs.
The investigators indicated that the theft method included both alarm jammers and the use of traditional lock picks. In some cases, the criminals entered private homes to take the vehicles found on the premises. Once stolen, the cars were usually "cooled," meaning they were left parked for a few hours to ensure they were not being tracked by the Police.
Ruedas robadas de camionetas incautadas por la policía
Criminal association and a figure gaining prominence
Prosecutor Tomás Casas charged the detainees with criminal association, which constitutes a more serious offense than simple vehicle theft. The decision was based on the fact that all those involved had assigned roles within the gang's structure. For the prosecution, the organization was consolidated and operated with a scheme that went far beyond an occasional theft.
The authorities explained that the vehicles abandoned after being stolen were later moved to safe locations for dismantling. In the case of pickup trucks, many were sent directly to the north of the country to be sold in parallel markets. The criminal association charge has been increasingly used in Córdoba in this type of investigation.
The investigation will continue with the analysis of the cellphones seized during the raids, which could provide new information about the organization. The existence of "El Michael's" graphic workshop had already been noted in previous investigations conducted by the Federal Police. With this operation, the judiciary seeks to dismantle a network that caused significant economic and social harm in Córdoba.
