vlad.tribnet.com / Issue #154 / Crime watch / Reading article...

Police cracked an international car theft ring recently that supplied Vladivostok with limousines and four-wheel drive vehicles stolen to order by a Japanese underworld group.

Operating in four Japanese cities - Fukuoka, Tottori, Osaka and Nara - the gang stole 600 cars for a total value of $25 million, detectives said.

The gang was headed by a 61-year-old Fukuoaka citizen who used to lead Yamaguchi, the biggest criminal group in Japan. He was arrested in September, and that led police to crack the auto theft ring.

The suspect, who lived in Toyama, would receive a detailed order for a car from Vladivostok, including its model, color and technical specifications. He sent the information to his men, who worked in ports.

The thieves mostly stole the cars from parking places near apartments. After the requested car was found, thieves stole them, attached false license plats, and transferred them to ports for shipment overseas.

The gang shipped most of the cars to Russia through Toyama, Sapai, and Simmodzi, where the leader met with Russian dealers. Most cars sold for about $10,000. In order to launder the vehicles, the gang employed major used car dealers to pass shipping and customs. One such dealer was arrested at his shop after detectives found stolen cars on his lot.

The trading of stolen cars has become a serious problem for Japan. Hirodzi Fudzimura, director of DC Trading, said the problem came into the public eye 1 ? years ago. According to official data, he said, 200-300 stolen cars were sold to Russia in 1996.

Russian used car dealers hastened to say they had nothing to do with the scheme. One of them, who asked to remain anonymous, said a legal order of a car of a particular model and features is commonplace. A buyer will come to him, and he sends the request on to Japan.

An officer in the Krai Internal Affairs Department says that this year, one luxury car stolen in Japan was found aboard a ship during customs clearance in Vladivostok.

Vladimir Skulkin, deputy head of the Krai Criminal Investigation Department, said none of the gang members has been arrested in Russia. There are local car thieves, he said, but they steal here, and their thefts have nothing to do with the Japanese crime ring.

Japan has never asked Primorye police to help in investigations, said a spokesman for the criminal investigation department.

"All the cars arriving here have been inspected by Japanese and Russian customs, and there is no ground to re-inspect them," he said. "If the Japanese side advises us that Russian citizens are involved in crime, we will undoubtedly investigate that."

GAI Lt. Col. Alexander Shakuro said none of the Japanese cars in the case has been found in Primorye. However, Japanese have never supplied Russian officials with detailed information on stolen cars, he said. So Russian police can't pursue the crime ring further.

Officers at the Internal Affairs Department said Russian and Japanese governments should work out the issue of better cooperation in fighting crime. An Interpol office slated to be opened in Vladivostok could help, they said.