National police forces, after months of careful investigation, dismantled a sophisticated criminal network that manipulated Technical Vehicle Inspections ITV. The scheme involved vehicle owners who traveled from various regions of Spain to Crevillent and Santomera in Murcia, aligning with companies engaged in vehicle buying and selling.
The operation was led by the Research Group Immigration and Border Brigade of the Elche police station, with support from the Crevillente Local Police Department. The authorities uncovered a plan that included individuals of Moroccan, Senegalese, and Spanish descent who coordinated to fraudulently secure vehicle inspections and enable illegal transactions.
Both the investigation and the operation benefited from strong collaboration with the Crevillente Local Police Department, which contributed through multiple channels.
Central figure and operations
At the heart of the case stood a Moroccan national residing in Crevillent who acted as a key intermediary between second-hand vehicle dealers in Crevillent and regional workshops and an ITV station in Santomera. His role spanned from overseeing fraudulent audits inside the ITV station to reviewing documents and even liaising with private owners whose vehicles carried deficiencies. He was the person tasked with achieving positive inspection outcomes for vehicles at the station.
The investigation highlighted that the intermediary facilitated a network that linked vehicle acquisition with inspections and imports, enabling irregular transactions to move forward in the regional market.
15 serious mistakes for a vehicle with a recent ITV
During the early phase of the inquiry, inspectors noted that in several cases a vehicle had recently passed an ITV with a false positive result, revealing a series of deception practices that undermined the inspection process.
Arrests and roles
Among those detained were seven employees, including technical directors, engineers, and specialist technicians of a Santomera ITV station in Murcia. Investigators apprehended the station’s driver for presenting a vehicle in visibly poor condition and transferring it to another ITV facility in Elche, where it was involved in a subsequent incident. The case cited fifteen serious defects, any one of which should have failed the audit, underscoring the extent of the wrongdoing.
Punishment methodology
The investigation exposed a close collaboration between the ITV station’s parent company and several Crevillent-based vehicle buyers and sellers, largely run by people of Moroccan origin. These firms acquired vehicles with significant deficiencies or lacking necessary registration documents and sold them in Spain, contributing to the criminal network’s operations.
Scope and impact
More than 200 vehicles were examined during the operation, with some rendered unusable due to missing paperwork. The main investigation traced a two-year pattern, estimating that around 5,000 vehicles underwent fraudulent inspections, posing a definite risk to road safety. It was noted that affected vehicles could have traveled from Granada, Almeria, Valencia, or Albacete.
Usage phase
The National Police closed the investigative phase on November 28 by registering and inspecting one ITV station in Santomera, along with two second-hand vehicle dealers in Crevillent. In total, thirteen people were arrested, including seven ITV station employees; the remainder comprised technical directors, engineers, and expert technicians in Molina de Segura, Crevillent, and Elche.
Of those detained, eight were Spanish citizens, four were Moroccan, and one was Senegalese, with ages ranging from 32 to 68. Cash totaling 9,000 euros and documents related to the case, plus a vehicle part and a cutting tool, were seized. Investigations also involved more than 200 vehicles in cases affecting Crevillent’s local police work due to documentation gaps.
The main investigator and ITV ties
Further inspection at the Santomera ITV station on November 28 revealed an unusual closeness between the lead investigator and managers and workers at the station, suggesting improper ties that aided the fraud scheme.
An archive image accompanies reports on the investigation, illustrating the broader context of the enforcement actions.
Ticket office and evidence handling
During the search, investigators found a locker used only by the primary suspect, who was not a station employee. Inside the locker was an On-Board Diagnostics device used to counter electronic errors in vehicles, a troubling indicator of how the fraud was concealed within the inspection process.
The case was presented to the public court in Elche for on-duty review, while several detainees were transferred to the courts in Murcia and Molina de Segura. Fraud involving ITV stations is not a new phenomenon in the region.
All detainees face multiple charges, including conspiracy, crimes against public administration, forgery of documents, and offenses related to road safety. Authorities emphasized that dismantling this chain showcases the effectiveness of cross-border cooperation among police forces in safeguarding road safety and legality in vehicle operations.