The Police Force of Sint Maarten is busy implementing its post-COVID-19 De-Escalation Plan. One of the actions mentioned in the plan is to stop and control vehicles that may be stolen.
During one of these controls that had taken place on Monday, May 18th, 2020, police officers stopped several vehicles that were suspected of being stolen. During one of these controls, the officers stopped the driver of a black Hyundai Tucson. During inspection of the vehicle, the officers became aware that the VIN numbers were tampered with and the vehicle had been sprayed over. The driver with the initials R.R.S.N. was immediately arrested and brought to the police station in Philipsburg where he is being held for questioning.
During the investigation on the stolen Tucson, the detectives became aware that R.R.S.N. was involved in the theft two (2) other vehicles where the VIN numbers were later changed and then resold.
Two other accomplices with the initials A.A.L. and M.S.L. who are involved in this car theft ring were later arrested and incarcerated pending further investigation. The two stolen cars, both being white grand i10s, were confiscated. The detective also searched several homes where spraying machines and equipment to change VIN numbers were found and confiscated. This investigation is still ongoing. More arrest will be made in the near future.
