The Guardia Civil has arrested fifteen people accused of stealing top of the range vehicles from Central Europe and selling them on to intermediaries on the Costa del Sol. Ten of the suspects were sent to prison on Friday night.

Among those arrested are the owners and employees of a car dealership and several intermediaries, although according to the organised crime team (ECO), there are several other suspects.

The fifteen people in custody appeared before the judge in Torremolinos on Friday, and ten were sent directly to prison, while two were released after putting up bail of 10,000 euros. The other three were released without bail. The alleged supplier of the vehicles is among one of the suspects imprisoned, and is believed to have imported stolen German vehicles and sold them on. He has denied the charges and denied having changed the vehicle identification number of the cars. He did however admit to having worked with a German intermediary who supposedly asked the suspect to show him a selection of cars and requested that he leave two or three at the car dealership under investigation.

The Guardia Civil believes that the suspects stored the stolen vehicles in a garage in Cártama and tampered with them there.