In Irkutsk, thieves of car license plates were detained

In Irkutsk, thefts of license plates have sharply increased in recent days. About seven hundred car owners have been left without them. The police advise not to give in to blackmail and to contact the traffic police immediately, where new plates cost only 280 rubles.

Over the past few days, cases of theft of state license plates from vehicles have become more frequent in Irkutsk.
According to preliminary data alone, about seven hundred car owners in the regional center have lost their license plates. As reported on July 15 by the Information and Public Relations Department of the Internal Affairs Directorate for the Irkutsk Region, the other day criminal investigation officers from the police department for the Oktyabrsky District detained two young men suspected of carrying out such thefts.
The offenders operated according to a carefully planned scheme. They removed the license plates from cars and left a note with the number of their mobile phone, which the car owner was supposed to call. They offered to return the stolen plates for a ransom. It depended on the value of the car. The price ranged from 2,000 to 7,000 rubles. The highest amount was set for minibus drivers. The victims sent the money via the Internet. According to suspect Maksim, the plates were hidden near the place of the theft. After the required sum was credited to the account, the offenders told the owners where the license plates were. But most often, according to the police, the plates were simply thrown away.
"As a rule, the car owner found it in an empty mailbox, in the bushes, or in a sewer manhole, that is, in the immediate vicinity of the car from which the plate was stolen. Quite often the thieves turned off their mobile phone, and then the person was left with nothing," notes Dmitry Nikerov, chief of staff of the police department for the Sverdlovsky District, adding that people who have become victims of such unlawful acts should not give in to the offenders. In such cases, it is much easier to contact the traffic police, where only 280 rubles will need to be paid for issuing a new state license plate.