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Victoria Police Vehicle Crime Squad "Cloned Muscle Cars"


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#1 _Victoria Police VCS_

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Posted 16 January 2015 - 07:14 AM

To members of the GMH-Torana-Forum.

 

The Victoria Police Vehicle Crime Squad ( VCS ) has been investigating the alleged organised theft, re-birthing and cloning of 1970’s muscle cars for some time.  As a result, many owners of these types of vehicles have asked if this matter is still being investigated.  As we believe this is the foremost forum for Holden Torana enthusiasts, we are taking this opportunity to contact you. 

 

As a result of our investigations, we currently have a list of motor vehicles which could have; a re-shelled body, a re-stamped chassis number or a re-stamped engine block.  In other cases both new and original ID Tags have been purchased and sold and they are now attached to vehicles which they never originally belonged to. 

 

If you are concerned that your vehicle may be in this position, or you know of a vehicle which may be of interest please contact us.  This can be done either directly to our email address or via Crime Stoppers (link) or number.

 

The purpose of this post is not to publicly name or shame a person or vehicle or to diminish the value of anyone’s investment.  Therefore we are requesting that no person posts a name or vehicle on this thread.  If that occurs, we have requested the forum administrators to remove the information immediately.

 

Thank you for your assistance.

 

 

 

Email on:  [email protected]

 

Crime Stoppers: 1800 333 000

 

www.crimestoppersvic.com.au



#2 Shiney005

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Posted 16 January 2015 - 09:09 AM

Positive action.



#3 Rockoz

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Posted 16 January 2015 - 09:27 AM

Might be a silly question.

Have they accessed the dodgy tag thread?



#4 jd lj

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Posted 16 January 2015 - 09:37 AM

Welcome aboard VCS,
If you read some of these threads there's a lot to be learnt which could be useful in future investigations.

JD

#5 _fatlh5000_

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Posted 16 January 2015 - 09:38 AM

This is the thread for dodgy tags...

 

http://www.gmh-toran...ic/376-id-tags/

 

Welcome aboard VCS



#6 meanmachine72

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Posted 16 January 2015 - 10:31 AM

yes a very big welcome to the VCS.. glad to see you guys weeding the bad element out to



#7 _ChaosWeaver_

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Posted 16 January 2015 - 01:24 PM

Welcome VCS.............   And I was only joking about citizen's right's to have fire arms ............   :spoton:



#8 yel327

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Posted 16 January 2015 - 01:41 PM

Good stuff!



#9 myss427

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Posted 16 January 2015 - 01:42 PM

Very pleased to see them on board!



#10 sagman

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Posted 16 January 2015 - 02:01 PM

Fantastic you guys are on board :clap:

 

As President of the Torana Motorsport Club of SA inc. i would like to think that other Torana Club Presidents and Executives will make all members aware of of this topic and if any members are aware of or have a question re the authenticity of their cars then now would seem to be an appropriate time to contact the VCS.

 

I have brought this issue up at one of our recent meetings and advised our members to contact the relevant authorities if need be .

 

It would seem by what the VCS have written they are aware of a number of cars , tags and engines that may be suspect ...... a number of people may be totally unaware that their car / parts may in question as there have been quite a few cars change hands over the years.

 

Let's all help to remove this black cloud hanging over our beloved Toranas ....

 

Regards    Sagman



#11 _LHSL308_

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Posted 16 January 2015 - 02:13 PM

Good to see they are taking action against this sort of profiteering.



#12 _sstorana_

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Posted 16 January 2015 - 03:45 PM

I agree with all the above!

 

this is a step in the right direction for us all.

 

cheers

Mick



#13 Statler

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Posted 16 January 2015 - 03:49 PM

Great stuff!  :welcome:



#14 WA1TNC

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Posted 16 January 2015 - 03:49 PM

I don't believe I have anything dodgy to do with my car, as it was brought off a family member & it's only a SL model(I know it's pretty rare...) this is just a general inquiry...

if someone was to find out that they have in fact not been sold what they believed they were buying through this process, what's the incentive to put their hand up especially if they've just shelled out a few months pay on their dream car? Is there some sort of process that helps the genuine victims not only keep their car, the original owner get looked after & it prosecutes the theiving mongrels that re-birthed it? I understand it would be hard to prove but I can't see old mate who brought a dodgy car by no means of his own accord nominating his car to be impounded & given back to the rightful owner after he's spent a few fist fills of hard earned & walk away with nothing. They are more likely to either:

a: destroy the tags & buy yet another set to make it more "legal" to them or

b: just stick their heads in the sand & wait until the next bloke buys it & then has to deal with it.

Cheers, Nig

#15 _Skapinad_

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Posted 16 January 2015 - 03:58 PM

Great news.

When all charges and court proceedings are complete, will the results be public record ?

#16 EunUCh

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Posted 16 January 2015 - 04:42 PM

Good point,all they would really need to work on is numbers and transaction details and probably a myriad of things not privy to the general public.

 

Why impound something suspect or non suspect because someone has a query about a car they shelled out $ for,it only makes for more cost to investigation and  inconvenience of said car being impounded for owner if they are aware or not,highly unlikely that someone with "sus" numbers would stick their hand up unless they have found out through "other means" that something is not right and require an answer as to where the car came from and it's history.

 

There was a very case where a member of this place found his cars tags for sale on the "net",i won't say who,he knows,as might some others.

It seems like it is still a "keen" market for those not "in the know" or done some homework.

Not only for Toranas but all the  cars that seem to be sought after these days by quite a few people.

It only makes it hard for those that do know and own the real deal but for the unsuspecting who don't.And then the sharks come in and use every means possible to "legitimize" a "genuine" this that or whatever.

Should imagine this shit is deeper than what most people think.

Sorry,just my 2bobs worth,not good for anyone who gets ripped off.. :)


Edited by EunUCh, 16 January 2015 - 04:42 PM.


#17 r2160

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Posted 16 January 2015 - 04:55 PM

If you are found to have a vehicle that has bad/dodgy/illegal tags or numbers and the car is discovered as stolen/illegally rebirthed, you can end up bearing the brunt of the law. You will be considered the one who performed the illegal act and the full weight of the law can be levered against you.

 

I learned this from the police some years ago. If you purchase stolen goods (whether you knew it or not) you are treated as the person that stole them

 

cheers

Glenn



#18 _76lxJAS_

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Posted 16 January 2015 - 04:55 PM

Welcome to the forum VCS.
It's good to know there is some active crime prevention for our cars.

#19 EunUCh

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Posted 16 January 2015 - 05:15 PM

Wow,that is a bit unfair if you did not know it was stolen and took a mans word for what is worth?

 

Maybe there should be a clause within the "law" that says something along the lines of "bought and/or received stolen goods unawares therefore the accuser needs to prove beyond doubt with conclusive evidence" that the goods were in fact "stolen and/or received".

Nevertheless,it is good to see that the "ring busted" is being looked into.


Edited by EunUCh, 16 January 2015 - 05:15 PM.


#20 Potta

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Posted 16 January 2015 - 05:15 PM

If you are found to have a vehicle that has bad/dodgy/illegal tags or numbers and the car is discovered as stolen/illegally rebirthed, you can end up bearing the brunt of the law. You will be considered the one who performed the illegal act and the full weight of the law can be levered against you.
 
I learned this from the police some years ago. If you purchase stolen goods (whether you knew it or not) you are treated as the person that stole them
 
cheers
Glenn


Maybe but in this case they know that the seller has been deliberately deceptive in an organised way for a long time and it is pretty clear where the blame lies.

#21 _victor_

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Posted 16 January 2015 - 05:49 PM

Just a couple question's.

How can you find the original owner ?

If tags & body numbers have been removed.

Just because tags & body numbers have been taken off doesn't mean it been stolen or re tagged as upgraded model.

How many members car on here have had there tags off or replace the inner gard & don't have a body number.

Can the police put a tag with some tamper proofing technology on all the genuine car.

Or before you buy a car police will sign off to say that it not stolen or re tagged.

As l would hate for someone to lose a big whack of money & there car just because they unwittingly got ripped off.

Victor

#22 GMHAz

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Posted 16 January 2015 - 07:13 PM

Welcome & good to hear your onto these thieving rebirthing scumbags, nothing pisses me off more than someone taking something you have worked so hard for and spent so much of their own time on & then scam someone for their hard earned coin on a rebirth vehicle for their own profit.
Hope you guys are covering this Australia wide on your investigation & the charges for this crime have been revised to the full extent, this situation never just effects one party and thoughts of the charges being multiplied by how many innocent people it involves would be fitting for the crime.

Az

#23 _Got1UR1_

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Posted 16 January 2015 - 07:41 PM

This needs to be an Australia wide investigation... cars have gone from the West to East and vice versa. Out of sight ,out of mind so to speak...



#24 Ice

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Posted 16 January 2015 - 08:03 PM

Good to have you guys on board hope we can get to the end of this car rebirthing racket and they do time because we need to weed out these thieves

#25 Statler

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Posted 16 January 2015 - 08:33 PM

Ok, so i'm about to buy a big $ Torana. I want to check out if it's stolen/rebirthed before i hand over half a house.

 

How do i do this? 

 

Contact REVS? They will only tell me if it is encumbered.

 

Ask the Police? They don't give a toss until i present the car for rego. Hopefully then (usually not) they will  check the VIN ( which doesn't exist) because checking for a stolen engine will reveal everything! 

 

Ask the dept of transport? They won't get involved unless the Police do! Will the Police get involved? Not unless the engine # comes back as stolen. Catch 22. 

 

The whole bloody system is flawed & that's why this crap has been allowed to flourish undetected! 

 

With respect to the Vic Police, if you truly want to stamp out this practice, then (as previously suggested) you should also be looking thru the Dodgey Tag Thread & act accordingly. I know you probably wont because you have a current case to work on & by doing so will create more work for yourself, but a better result will be achieved across the board. Most of the ground work has already been done. Maybe start with a particular 'willow' XU-1. :) 






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