UK Citizen Snitches On Swapping Plates Scheme

Another stolen vehicle was recovered…

Just like here in the US and just north of us in Canada, the UK on the other side of the Atlantic is having a tough time with car theft. It’s gotten so bad in London that some insurance carriers are refusing to cover Range Rovers, a favorite target of criminals. That might be why people there are extra vigilant about suspicious activity, like someone swapping out the license plate on a vehicle parked on the side of the road.

See what’s left of a Corvette after it hit a guardrail here.

According to the Cheshire Roads and Crime Unit Twitter account, just such a situation arose on April 28. The person who witnessed the plate swapping in process called police and they caught up with the suspect, detaining him for a stern talking to and perhaps more.

What shocks us is the guy was swapping the plate on an allegedly stolen Citroen cargo van. As a wise man once said, if you’re going to steal a car go for a Ferrari, not a Pinto. There aren’t many Pintos on the road these days and we suspect there are even fewer in the UK. Come to think of it, there aren’t many Ferraris either.

Maybe this is why Dodges here are such popular theft targets. After all, they’re apparently easy to steal if you have the right tools, they’re fast, and they’re flashy. These are all things no Citroen can provide, most especially not a cargo van.

However, it’s occurred to us a cargo van can carry all kinds of contraband. Perhaps the guy was transporting stolen goods or all that hate speech we’ve heard is outlawed over there in Jolly Ol’ England? Probably not and that makes us somewhat sad. But we also see the police in this instance have a Skoda Octavia, so they’re really no better off.