Deb Hallmark, pictured with her son Hamish, moved after her
house was burgled twice and her car was stolen. Picture Norm Oorloff
THEFTS of expensive Audi cars have skyrocketed more than 430
per cent, as organised crime gangs increasingly target luxury vehicles.
Alarming new figures reveal one in every 167 cars on
Victorian roads is taken by a thief, amid a 50 per cent overall rise in vehicle
thefts compared with five years ago.
The number of BMWs stolen has tripled during the same
period.
Hooning highway bandits are using the expensive models to
lead police on dangerous chases as young criminals pursue what police describe
as a “fast and furious” gangster lifestyle.
Disturbingly, recent cases show car thefts are linked to
aggravated burglaries, with brazen thieves willing to arm themselves and raid
family homes to swipe keys.
Motorists in the suburbs north of Melbourne airport are
among the most targeted by car crooks, followed by owners in Geelong and those
near Cranbourne.
Stolen cars are being sold as scrap for a quick buck, as
thieves team up with unscrupulous metal merchants who offer to pay cash, no
questions asked.
National Motor Vehicle Theft Reduction Council executive
director Ray Carroll said thieves had been targeting Audis because they knew
there was a spare key hidden in the glovebox.
“Audis became a particular target in Victoria in 2014-15 due
to the now widely publicised valet key in the glove compartment issue,” Mr
Carroll said.
“That issue is now
largely resolved, with Audi no longer putting the valet key in the glove
compartment and through numerous notifications to owners to remove the valet
key from existing vehicles.
“Nonetheless ... numbers of thefts have remained higher.”
Lower-priced cars are being stolen more frequently than
high-end brands.
But Mr Carroll said: “There is evidence of an increasing
tendency for some high-rate recidivist thieves to target luxury or performance
cars.”
Deb Hallmark was so frightened criminals would return after
raiding her house twice and stealing her BMW that she moved her family to
another town — and just a few doors from a police station.
“I would sleep with a golf club next to my bed,” she said.
Berwick Motor Group general manager Mark Wright increased
security after three cars were stolen in a ram raid.
“They’re brazen thieves and they’ve got no respect for
anyone or anything,” he said.
Police have been calling on the Victorian Government to
follow other states in banning cash-for-scrap practices amid fears interstate
thieves would bring cars over state borders to sell here.
Opposition Leader Matthew Guy promised in April to introduce
new laws if his party won power.
The Andrews Government followed suit last month, finally
announcing it would create new laws to crack down on the trade.
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