BAGHDAD: According to the Antalya Car Rental Agencies Assocition Chair Ergün Akça, intermediary individuals are renting vehicles and then taking them across the Turkey’s border town of Reyhanlı, Hatay province, into Syria and selling them to ISIL.
Previous reports from Turkish media indicated that figures from the Gendarmerie and National Police found that 2,000 vehicles stolen from Turkey, mostly pick-up trucks and minivans, have been smuggled into Syria, most likely to Jihadist extremists who mount weapons or carry fighters on them.
In an interview with Doğan News Agency, Akça’s claimed higher figures. According to the Antalya Car Rental Agencies Association chair, in Turkey close to 5,000 rental vehicles are being stolen; the figure of vehicles which went from Antalya to Syria and never came back is 200 alone yet Akça adds that Turkey’s central province of Konya has the highest figures. He supsects that car dealers in Reyhanlı are also involved in the scheme.
The Association chair highlights that one of the methods of smuggling vehicles involving the switching of license plates. “They rent a vehicle and change its license plate and permits from an identical model vehicle they already have,” he said.
He adds that the absence of chassis checks at the border makes it easier. The GPS systems of the vehicles are also being removed prior to the crossing.
