KABUL: (Middle East Press) About 2,000 vehicles that have been stolen in Turkey have been sent to Syria in the last two years, most of them were sold to terrorists fighting in the neighboring country, according to reports.
According to figures from the Police Department and the Gendarmerie Command, the 2,000 vehicles stolen in 2013 and 2014 were smuggled to Syria via using cloned license plates.
Most of the vehicles were either pick-up vans or panel vans which have been sold to fighter groups in the region, mainly the so-called “Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant” (ISIL). Such vehicles have been used by fighter groups for carrying explosives and fighters.
According to figures from the Public Security Department of the Police Department, nearly 63 vehicles are stolen every day in Turkey.
Istanbul is the province where the most vehicles are stolen, with 26 vehicles stolen a day. In 2014, 23,000 vehicles were stolen across Turkey.
The newest models of luxury vehicles are also often stolen and smuggled to northern Syria and Iraq, according to data obtained by the police.