Racing decoy

Eagle-eyed Spanish police have foiled a clever attempt to smuggle drugs into the country, using a decoy support vehicle for a major race event. The criminals tried to use the Dakar Rally held earlier this year as a front for their drug smuggling activities in an attempt with a plotline worthy of a Hollywood gangster movie.
February 22, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
Eagle-eyed Spanish police have foiled a clever attempt to smuggle drugs into the country, using a decoy support vehicle for a major race event. The criminals tried to use the Dakar Rally held earlier this year as a front for their drug smuggling activities in an attempt with a plotline worthy of a Hollywood gangster movie. A truck was disguised by the enterprising smugglers to resemble a race support vehicle for the race, which was held in South America instead of Africa this year. The truck was emblazoned with logos for the event's sponsors and for the Dakar Rally itself, as well as having a graphic of a racing car on its rear doors. The smugglers then transported the truck from the Spanish port of Bilbao to Argentina for the event. Close to Argentina's capital Buenos Aires the truck was loaded with the drugs using a number of secret storage areas within the vehicle. With the drugs aboard the truck then shadowed the race for two weeks before being shipped back to Bilbao. However police were waiting and the truck and its contents were seized. Inside the truck police discovered over 800kg of cocaine as well as 1,500 ecstasy tablets, 4.5kg of hashish and two firearms, all of which was hidden behind the various panels in secret lockers. Seven people were also arrested. The smugglers had prepared documentation for the vehicle and provided its crew with official uniforms, however the event organisers said that the truck was never part of the official race and never came to the meeting points along the route. The vehicle's graphics were also incorrect, making it easier to identify as a 'Trojan horse'.

Related Content

  • Safety system
    February 22, 2012
    Carmaker Volvo is well known for the safety features it fits to its vehicles. However, one of the latest failed spectacularly at a recent demonstration in front of the motoring press. The demonstration was supposed to show how the automatic braking system ensures that the new Volvo models will be able to reduce the risk of accidents. The car was driven at the rear of a truck and was supposed to come to an emergency stop but instead ploughed straight into the vehicle, resulting in wry smirks amongst the asse
    Read More
  • SMOPYC success
    March 1, 2012
    The organisers of the recent SMOPYC event in Spain claim that the show was highly successful, beating targets initially set.
    Read More
  • Europe’s drink drive crackdown
    August 22, 2012
    A series of controls to enforce drink driving and drug driving regulations across Europe saw police conduct more than 900,000 breath tests in a seven-day period, of which nearly 18,000 were positive. Motorists were also checked for drugs in the operation, organised by the European Traffic Police Network (TISPOL), between 4 and 10 June. In total, 928,863 drivers were controlled. There were 17,970 alcohol offences and 2,773 drug offences detected.
    Read More
  • Crash saves lives
    November 20, 2014
    In Texas a police officer took affirmative action to tackle a drugged driver dangerously speeding the wrong way up a major highway. The officer spotted the errant vehicle heading the wrong way and drove his police cruiser deliberately into the path of the car, to safeguard other road users.
    Read More

Highlighted Content