Thread: Tucson a national leader in stolen cars-Why? Smuggling!

http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/ss/frontpage/54803.php

Tucson Citizen
Two days after Air Force Master Sgt. Ken Peiffer moved to Tucson, his half-ton "baby" was stolen.
His bright-red Dodge Ram 1500 was nowhere to be seen in the hotel parking lot near Broadway and Craycroft Road.
It was that night, May 16, when Peiffer became a statistic of the FBI and the Arizona Vehicle Theft Task Force - a statistic that spiked here last year.
Vehicle thefts in the Tucson area rose to 7,377 in 2006 from 6,527 in 2005, an increase of 13 percent, according to FBI data.
In the first four months of this year, 2,170 vehicles were stolen here, according to the Tucson Police Department.
The trend in vehicle thefts here "has to do with trends in Mexico," said Tucson police Sgt. David Azuelo, leader of the Tucson-area Arizona Vehicle Theft Task Force.
Tucson, like many southern border cities, has a higher vehicle theft rate than other areas of the country because vehicles are used here or in Mexico to smuggle drugs or people, Azuelo said.
"It is mostly tied to narcotics and human trafficking," Azuelo said, "but human trafficking is the No. 1 problem now.
"I saw a Geo (Metro) where they stacked 14 people, laid them down like toothpicks in a box. It's very lucrative, more so than drugs now."
Tucson isn't the only border town with a high vehicle theft rate.
In El Paso, Texas, 3,500 vehicles were stolen in 2006, up from 2,600 in 2005, a 34.6 percent increase, according to the FBI.
In Laredo, Texas, 1,200 were stolen in 2006, up from 950 in 2005, a 26.3 percent increase.
To help curb the problem, Mexican authorities are cooperating with Arizona authorities through their own agency, called Policia International Sonora-Arizona force.
Law enforcement efforts are paying off.
The Arizona task force made 5,096 arrests statewide in 2005, compared to 5,231 in 2004, which had a higher number of vehicle thefts, according to the state Department of Public Safety.
DPS numbers were not available for 2006, but the Tucson-area task force said its arrests accounted for 44 percent of vehicle theft arrests statewide.
"I believe it makes a huge difference to the victims to see the person who stole their cars convicted, to see someone held accountable," Azuelo said.
More than 65 percent of cars and trucks stolen are recovered, Azuelo said. In 2006 alone, the Mexican and Arizona forces returned about 600 vehicles from Mexico, he said.
But most are destroyed or at least badly damaged.
Take Peiffer's truck, for example. It was found six days later in an apartment building parking lot on the South Side.
"It had Sonoran license plates," Peiffer said. The truck's personalized license plates from Missouri, reading "AKAKEN," were gone.
The back seats had been ripped out, it was badly scratched inside and out, and it reeked of marijuana, Peiffer said.
The windows had been tinted, Azuelo said, which smugglers do to avoid detection.
"Auto theft is not a victimless crime. People that have their cars stolen feel violated and have a lot of problems with red tape," Azuelo said.
Peiffer knows what that's like.
"I thought to myself, 'Did I park it here? … Where did my truck go?' "
It took Peiffer about a month to finish the paperwork with his insurance company. During that time, he did not have a truck, but he had to continue to make his payments.
In addition to government and law enforcement agencies, new anti-theft technology, such as high-tech alarm systems and satellite tracking devices, can help reduce vehicle theft, said Frank Scafidi, director of public relations for the National Insurance Crime Bureau.
However, common sense is always needed.
"Vehicle owners are doing a better job protecting their vehicles," Scafidi said, "but you will be surprised at how many people still leave their engine running to go into a convenience store."
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Comments on this Story Write a letter to the Editor12 Total Comments — See All Comments
1. Comment by Mike W. (montara mike) — June 16,2007 @ 6:19AM

"To help curb the problem, Mexican authorities are cooperating with Arizona authorities through their own agency, called Policia International Sonora-Arizona force."

I have heard stories of insurance companies recovering stolen vehicles in Mexico that had obviously been used by the police. Police insignia over painted on the doors, holes where radios and lights were mounted etc..


2. Comment by B s. (wakeupAZ) — June 16,2007 @ 7:08AM

LOL that was funny!!! Mexico cooperating with the United States! Maybe to their face... the minute their backs are turned Jose is putting the peso's in the Mexican Policia's pocket. The day Mexico does anything honest will be the day Hell freezes over.


3. Comment by Kevin K. (#3963) — June 16,2007 @ 9:30AM

Just one more of the many reasons we fled the city we onced loved. A city which is turning into a ****hole full of punks, gangbangers, methheads and
third world scum. What a shame.

"To help curb the problem, Mexican authorities are cooperating with Arizona authorities through their own agency, called Policia International Sonora-Arizona force."

I highly doubt the mexican government is "helping" to curb this problem. I would be willing to bet they are helping to promote this problem.

the mexican government is more than likely sending out information on how to get around the alarms.

Originally Posted by sippy

"To help curb the problem, Mexican authorities are cooperating with Arizona authorities through their own agency, called Policia International Sonora-Arizona force."

I highly doubt the mexican government is "helping" to curb this problem. I would be willing to bet they are helping to promote this problem.

Sippy, notice one reader's response to the article, where he says he's heard stories about mexican police using the stolen cars? When I lived in Tucson I heard a story about an elderly man who drove to mexico, which is strongly advised against, to get prescriptions filled. While he was there, he had a fender bender with a mexican national. They threw this man in prison without his prescriptions, which of couse, he needed, for three months. Someone in his family finally got him out. He asked for his car and was told they had no idea what happened to it. Some time later, he walked back across the border to buy his prescriptions and saw the mexican cop who arrested him driving his car! viva la mexico!! What a great country.