Authorities in Victoria, Australia made a major bust, taking down what’s believed to be a prolific vehicle rebirthing operation located in a rural area. That should give Aussies some relief, considering these types of enterprise help fuel demand for stolen vehicles and put car shoppers at risk as well.
The CBC finally wakes up to the car theft epidemic.
According to Victoria Police, a man was arrested on March 20 and charged for the stolen property and drug trafficking. When investigators descended on the remote property, they found 10 stolen vehicles, many of them V8 Holdens, plus a Toyota Land Cruiser and a Mazda BT50. Police shared a video of wreckers hauling the contraband away.
Also found at the property was a stolen forklift, a stolen front-end loader, and multiple stolen motorcycles. Investigators also claim to have found meth in a trafficable amount, so likely not for personal use.
They also ran across engines police say were also stolen, but we’re not sure if that means they were stolen that way or taken out of stolen vehicles which were chopped.
What we do know is that investigators claim the property was being used to rebirth stolen cars. While some might think rebirthing is the same as VIN swapping, it’s similar yet a little different.
In a rebirthing scheme, criminals take a stolen vehicle and swap the identifying parts from it with a car that hasn’t been stolen. Usually, the donor vehicle has been in an accident, so it can be purchased for significantly less.
That also means the donor vehicle isn’t registered and so there’s less of a chance that anyone will detect deception when the stolen car is registered and insured. Since VINs can be stamped on engines, that might be why authorities found several on the property.
Police are still investigating the operation and are asking anyone who has information about it to contact them.
Image via Victoria Police/Facebook
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