Maserati, Porsche, Harley-Davidson: how luxury vehicle theft ring operated in Europe for sale in Spain

Catalan police have recovered nine luxury vehicles worth nearly €640,000 stolen from Denmark, Italy, and France. The ring modified the vehicles to register and sell them fraudulently in Spain.

A 51-year-old man faces criminal charges over his alleged involvement in the scheme. Investigators revealed the ring used stolen blank official documents, forged chassis numbers, and fake bills of sale to legitimise the vehicles.

The investigation began in July 2025 when Mossos d'Esquadra officers spotted irregularities in paperwork submitted to register an imported Italian car. Inquiries led to a stolen Maserati Levante Modena that was in the process of being registered in Gandía, Valencia, using forged Italian documents. Police intervention prevented registration.

Months later, officers uncovered similar red flags during the attempted registration of a Fiat Panda Hybrid in Figueres. This breakthrough led to seven further vehicles: four Porsche Carrera 4 GTSs, a Range Rover Sport SVR, and two Harley-Davidson motorcycles.

The gang followed a consistent operation: stealing vehicles across Denmark, Italy, and France before altering their VINs (Vehicle Identification Numbers). To register them in Spain, they used stolen blank registration documents from Italy and Austria. Investigators seized four Italian and ten Austrian stolen blank logbooks.

The suspect backed up the counterfeit documents with fake sales contracts and invoices to simulate legitimate transactions, alongside tax fraud by underreporting purchase prices to Spanish authorities.

Police recovered all nine vehicles across Catalonia (Figueres, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Gavà, and La Bisbal del Penedès) and wider Spain, assisted by the Guardia Civil's Traffic Investigation unit in Gandía, Benirredrà, and A Coruña.

Several vehicles had already been sold to unsuspecting buyers uninvolved in the crime ring.

The probe also uncovered a staged theft linked to the same suspect. Officers resolved a false report regarding a stolen Porsche 911 aimed at defrauding an insurer. In May 2025, the suspect used keys from one of the seized cloned cars to report the Porsche stolen at Sant Feliu de Guíxols police station to claim an indemnity payout.

The 51-year-old faces charges including forgery, handling stolen vehicles, fraud, and money laundering. The investigation remains open, with police not ruling out further arrests.