Toyota Hilux most stolen car in Australia

Not on the sauce, Fisho, I very rarely drink. Just my version of sarcasm for today. It's well known in law enforcement circles that "Middle Eastern crime gangs" are responsible for the largest proportion of vehicle thefts and re-birthing.
It's also no surprise, the level of co-operation between MECG's and OMCG'S, when it comes to criminality on a large scale.
The recovery rate for the Hiluxes gives one little comfort that law enforcement are gaining on the crims - and what a surprise to find, that Hilux and 'Cruiser utes and parts are a booming market in the ME today!

The Toyota Pickup Truck is the War Chariot of the 3rd World in the 21st Century

fisho64
I understood exactly what Ron has mentioned. There is no riddle or ambiguity either. Simple explanation of what happens. Plain as day.
Do you drink sauce?

An account of hidden Hilux vehicles being exported to replace the ones the drones are eliminating in Syria and similar locations.

Never noticed a predominance of RHD Hiluxes on the footage from the Middle East.

Of course, we believe everything we read on the internet.

How about we check out New Zealand?

Don't they have a thriving trade in ex Japanese imports?

Spot on Nargun52, as soon as I read that article I smelt a rat. The part about ISIS in the article isn't a quote, it's speculation.

Toyota sell over 100,000 Hilux's in Thailand alone, verses 40,000 here. AND they are LHD. Thailand is closer and easier to pay off officials and cops. Surely that would be a better target.

Maybe one or two Hiluxes went from Australia to ISIS and was beefed up into a story. Dragged up from the old Al quida Hilux stories doing the rounds a few years ago.

Anything to sell papers, they are getting more desperate, no wonder sales are falling off the cliff.

good for you Rosso, probably do a lot of crosswords, you get 3 stars and a pat on the back as well as a "thanks" from me!

So ISIS are stealing Hiluxes here, shipping them to the Middle East and converting them to left hand drive.
Somebody really IS on the sauce...

Did a Google search on the topic.

It appears this topic has been this has been previously promulgated by the Daily Mail, the Daily Telegraph and Reclaim Australia (none of which are cited by Ron).

All quality “sources” :-)?

And here I was thinking that Ron had thought this up all by himself.

Lots of references to unnamed sources, but not one iota of proof.

The European Hiluxes are built in South Africa; just a bit of a drive up the continent and cross the Red Sea (the SA sold ones are also RHD).

Any army basically marches on its wallet; why in the hell would anybody pay for shipping of a few container loads of cars from Australia when you could steal thousands in Europe, Asia or Africa for the same cost and a couple of days wages for the thieves to drive it there? A few thousand dollars landed versus a couple of hundred.

Maybe the organisers of these forces are as thick as Reclaim Australia members?

Blue - The figures in the link I initially put up, are compared on a scale that doesn't take into account totals over a full period range - but on a scale that selects precise model ranges. As a result, the figures are a bit like comparing oranges to apples.

The important numbers are the poor recovery rate overall for stolen vehicles (which varies between 25% and 30% from year to year) - particularly 4WD's and luxury vehicles - and the poor apprehension/arrest rate for car thieves. That latter figure is 16%.

Recovery rates overall are apparently currently around 25%, but with Hiluxes and 4WD's in general, that jumps to 40%.

According to figures below, there were more Commodores stolen in total numbers, in 2014, than Hiluxes - but the Commodores are older models, and worth less in total ($3.3M VS $14M in value).

The authorities make a clear distinction between Short Term Theft (the crim who steals your car to carry out a robbery or to joyride) and Profit-Motivated Theft - one where a 4WD or luxury vehicle is stolen for parting out, or for shipping overseas, complete, for resale to insurgents, or private buyers, who ask no questions and who have little fear of being apprehended, and even less chance of being apprehended.

The theft problems are compounded by fragmentation of groups interested in theft reduction, by record-keeping that appears to vary according to source, record-gathering that is out-of-date and which lacks relevance, and by a lack of cohesive effort by Govts (both State and Federal) to seriously attack the root causes of PMT.

CARS database - Publication, research and inforgraphics on MV thefts

Cheers, Ron.

ALJ - Nothing funny about your pride and joy disappearing overnight from your front yard or verge, never to be found again.

Neither is there anything funny about what it is costing us in vastly increased insurance premiums and anti-theft devices that crims soon find ways to bypass (WA police, faced with an unprecedented 32% spike in vehicle thefts in the last year, have identified a major trend, where car thieves, previously thought to have been slowed down by immobilisers, have merely discovered it is simple enough to carry out a break-and-enter, acquire the desired vehicles keys, and drive away with the vehicle).

It's not helped by the fact that vehicle owners usually "secure" their expensive vehicle keys, on sideboards, kitchen tables, bedside tables, and other immediately accessible positions.

Many crims intent on Profit-Motivated Vehicle Theft will drive around suburbs until they identify a particularly-highly-sought-after model of vehicle, and make note of its location, and arrange to carry out a B&E, steal the keys and the vehicle at a later date. Many of these thefts are to order, and quite often from interstate criminals.

The following article outlines exactly what is going on with the resurgence in vehicle theft in several states - but not enough concentrated effort is being brought to bear by authorities to stamp out the MV theft criminality that is linked with money-laundering, immigration from 3rd world countries, terrorism, and the utilisation of corruption to facilitate their activities.

An influx of 3rd world migrants with good connections to the countries they came from - many with low morals and bad character due to relaxed immigration rules - coupled with the ease of scrapping vehicles and the sale or export of used parts and components, has led to an increase in PMVT's in recent years.

These people have no problem with ignoring Australian laws, are happy to operate between jurisdictions to bamboozle authorities, and utilise contacts, often with family ties, in other states and other countries, to carry out their nefarious activities with a low chance of apprehension. They also make full use of foreign languages in important transactions, to avoid detection.

Stolen car rorts exposed in clampdown as cops change tack

Absolutely nothing funny at all about having your car stolen. There is a world of difference between that however and the conclusions jumped to in the post.

The conclusions aren't "jumped to" - the conclusions are an undeniable fact - that MECG's are the primary operators when it comes to car theft, car-re-birthing, and shipping stolen cars and components overseas. Unfortunately, they have not been eliminated, as they should have been - they have now just become more savvy and more cunning in their operations.

ME crime connections

Gone in 60 seconds

Your conclusions are very deniable. You cite articles on "luxury car" thefts and ethnic gangs. I have no argument with those articles. I can see the sense in pinching luxury cars for export, but Hi Luxes?? Without any evidence that I can see you than make an assumption that Australian Hi Luxes are being sent overseas to be used as gun platforms. Makes no sense any way, there is no shortage of SUV type vehicles in the ME. Why would anyone want to steal vehicles in Oz, ship them all the way to the Me to use them as gun platforms? plenty already there, especially if you have the money to buy that sort of heavy weaponry.

The head of the National Motor Vehicle Theft Reduction Council, Ray Carroll is quoted in the original article as saying ...

"The majority (of the stolen Hiluxes) are broken up for parts; we have seen some instances where a HiLux has been cut in half and put into a container, says Carroll."

"Most of the HiLux parts end up in the Middle East and sometimes Asia, both regions where the HiLux is also a popular vehicle."

Now, AFAIC, Carroll must have access to a lot of restricted info that we don't, to be able to make the above statement.

Contrary to what you might think, there IS a shortage of SUV type vehicles in the ME - particularly those sought by insurgents. The vehicle attrition rate in the ME is phenomenal. This is also a heavily populated region, so the demand is immense. ME populations, despite their warring, have increased at twice the rate of Western Nations in the last 30-40 years, due to multiple children produced by their women.

As to IS seeking out stolen RHD Hiluxes - let's say, for a start, these blokes aren't the sharpest tools in the cabinet. They're essentially murderous, thuggish crims.
They have no morals whatsoever - and they have access to a plentiful supply of terrorist-supplied drugs that the Western users need.

They would also have a problem with a high attrition rate amongst Hiluxes - not unexpected, when you make yourself a target of warplanes and drones.
They would also have some pretty poor drivers amongst their lot who would roll Hiluxes regularly.
A Hilux with big gun mounted in the tub isn't exactly a highly stable setup.

We have dozens written off here every month as they are rolled by people with poor driving skills (hire vehicles, especially) - so I wouldn't like to speculate on the Hilux losses amongst IS, where driver training would be non-existent, driver skills are low, maintenance would be whenever the Hilux stopped, and crashes and rollovers would probably destroy nearly as many IS Hiluxes as U.S. drones and coalition warplanes do.

As a result of all these factors, IS need to keep up the replacement levels in both useable vehicles and components. Swapping drugs for stolen Hiluxes would be one of the simplest and easiest ways for them to keep the supplies coming in.
Remember, we are not talking about a proper Govt amongst IS that deals directly with dealers or manufacturers, and who places orders in bulk on an IS letterhead.

The terrorists are loosely-co-ordinated groups of heavily-armed thugs who spend a portion of their time fighting each other, as much as they fight to advance the Caliphate. As a result, they lose vehicles in these skirmishes as well, and need replacements.

They could possibly use corrupt front men in nearby nations to get replacement vehicles - but there would be pressure on manufacturers and dealers to try and ensure that IS was not the main recipient of any bulk purchase.

As a result, theft would be just one of the easy sources of replacement vehicles for terrorists - and Australian ME thugs would be only too happy to provide "requested goods and services", for their "freedom-loving cousins and brothers".
No doubt the stolen Australian Hiluxes are well down the list of stolen source percentages, but I'll wager they are there.

Bill, the insurgents care not one iota if the wheel is on the right or left.
All they want is cheap, good Hiluxes in exchange for drugs or cash.

They will already have numbers of dubiously-sourced RHD vehicles, that they need parts for.

Yes, quite a few steering and control components from RHD will not fit LHD - but these people care not one iota what fits what - or whether the LHF indicator isn't working properly!
They haven't exactly got DOT people or traffic inspectors checking them out for roadworthiness daily!!

They only care about one thing - that they go when the key is turned, and the accelerator is pressed.
In fact, they wouldn't even be concerned about keys, they would all be hot-wired for quick getaways.

All the major components - engine, tranny, axles, brakes, are virtually interchangable between RHD and LHD.
Where there are differences, the ME's will modify them to fit - they're like the Cubans.
No need to check VIN's with the manufacturer, when over there, and when you need to get your guntruck back on the road!