Fake vehicle storage company operating out of Malaga airport busted

The Local Police have reported and identified the alleged head of a fictitious company dedicated to the storage of vehicles in the vicinity of Malaga airport. As SUR has learned, the company is NisoPark and, according to the city hall, it provided users with false information regarding its registered office. In fact, everything suggests that the real headquarters would be the car in which the suspect was located, in which the officers found 150 sets of keys in the boot.

The operation began at the beginning of last month, after a unit of the Churriana police station was called to the premises of one of the airport car parks. According to what the owner of the vehicle told the officers, he had left his car in a storage facility and a worker there returned the keys and the car with varying degrees of damage. He also explained that he was unable to get back in contact with the company.

Officers from the investigation and protection group (GIP) began their investigations and verified the bad experiences of numerous customers who had left negative reviews online about the fictitious company. The most recent one was a week ago and, in addition to rating the service as “terrible,” the user recounted that, upon getting into their car, a message appeared warning of a vehicle fault and instructing them to urgently contact the service centre. After reaching out to the company and following up for several hours, they said in their complaint that they never received a response.

"On the other hand, I would add that if it is only three kilometres from the airport to the Niso car park, as this employee told me, why did they drive my car 17 kilometres?" Most of the reviews refer to the lack of professionalism, the damage to their cars, the inexplicable increase in mileage and the waiting times which, in no case, according to them, were justified.

The police discovered that this company was offering its services on the main parking and vehicle deposit platforms for people who were going to travel. The police went to the airport to find the alleged perpetrators, locating a man who matched the characteristics described by those affected. According to the police, in some cases, he left the cars in unauthorised areas where removal by a tow truck was warned.

During the surveillance they also observed that the suspect was keeping all the sets of vehicle keys in the boot of a car. With all this evidence, they approached him, after which the man allegedly stated that he was not employed, as the company belonged to a relative, and that he did not have a work permit either.

The officers found inside a bag he was carrying 12 keys, a large bolt cutter and a pack of the company’s advertising cards, in addition to locating 150 sets of keys in the trunk of the car he used as a base of operations. During the intervention, they also noticed a strong smell of alcohol, so he was given a breathalyser test, which came back positive.

After the police intervention, in which the private security of the airport car park collaborated, it has been confirmed that the company gains the trust of its potential clients through its advertisements on the internet. It has also been demonstrated that, lacking business infrastructure, they park their vehicles in AENA parking spaces without paying. Similarly, it has been detected that they provide false information regarding the registered address on the documents used to collect the vehicle.

This type of activity, according to Malaga city council, poses a risk to users' property and constitutes unfair competition in commercial, labour and tax matters with respect to other companies that carry out the same work with all the required guarantees. The facts have been brought to the attention of the National Police as well as the competent bodies in the field of employment and other areas related to this activity.