How Can 500 Toyota Hiace Vans Disappear from NZ

It was on 3News today at 6pm - in Auckland alone over 500 Toyota Hiace Vans have been stolen suspected exported to Pakistan and the likes.

How can that happen in a country where ports are fenced off, where customs officers check the paperwork and the cargo and where anything that leaves the country has to go through a sea port or an airport:confused:

Sounds like they are broken down into parts and packed that way.

Do customs check outbound stuff? Or just inbound?

Having also seen the reports of those containers of rubbish (dozens of them!) being sent from UK to Brazil and only being caught once they arrive, I'd imagine that the paperwork states (incorrectly) what is inside a packed container, and even if they check the inside, it would only be the stuff that could be seen when the door was opened (and that outer layer could be anything...)

Does anyone know if car wreckers have to be licenced the same way that second hand dealers do to try to crack down on fenced stolen goods?

Yes, good on the Brazilians to send the stuff back. I guess the Brits will just repackage it and send it off to China or similar.

Have you seen the arrogant guy who said 'we are experts in making it safe again' etc? He said they'll just fumigate it and then it'll be safe. From the sounds of it it is hospital rubbish so how do you fumigate nappies where everything is wrapped in plastic and not only the surface needs to be sterilized like with grapes that come into the country?

Hospital rubbish needs to be incinerated at very high temperatures which is expensive. So propably someone had a bright idea on how to make a bit more profit - send it to Brazil instead. These guys who take away hospital rubbish are paid VERY well indeed because it's quite a risky job.

It's apparently been a major issue with UK 'recycling' for years, and has happened with shipments of 'clean paper' as well as other things. As you say, seems to go back to the companies that win the tenders for disposal looking for cheap disposal options...

Tigger car dismantlers don't have to be licenced as second hand dealers.

3 horses;272863 wrote: Tigger car dismantlers don't have to be licenced as second hand dealers.

Maybe they need to start requiring this. I know even scrap metal dealers have to keep records of who they get material off and what is paid for it...

It was on a tv programme not too long ago about crime rings and stolen cars. Alot of it was gang involvement and were stealing to order. Cars were often pulled apart and then put into containers and sold as wreaking parts and then reassembled at their destination. One outfit working through a wrekers yard had sent 50 something odd containers to ... cannot remember the country but it was a desert type place.

Interesting programme, it was presented by an undercover guy, maybe it was Illegal NZ.

gone on for years, there was a fellow I knew and heard back home he had stolen earth moving equipment from the UK and shipped them in parts to Aussie. heard he parked the ''last'' on down his neighbours backyard when he got wind that he was being watched.

having just moved to NZ last october and M & D earlier this year, Customs and MAF went through various boxes rather thoroughly. In M & D's case they went through each individual chainsaw chain box (4) and also the 4 boxes of gun nails they bought over for SOH (1/3 price in Aussie than NZ).
where we declared medication (special scripts for SOH's back) they went through all of our bathroom boxes to find the prescribed medicine. whereas M & D walked into NZ declared carrying a cake box full of scripted tablets from their Doc and they were not inspected.

I felt they did a fair job in our two cases.

When our dfirst Holden ss was stolen nearly 6 years ago before we moved here, the cops reckon it had been stolen to order. A*****

swaggie;272908 wrote: having just moved to NZ last october and M & D earlier this year, Customs and MAF went through various boxes rather thoroughly. .

Again, that was coming in to NZ not leaving...I somehow doubt the checking is as careful going out...as they rely on country that the stuff is going to to check...

tigger;272884 wrote: Maybe they need to start requiring this. I know even scrap metal dealers have to keep records of who they get material off and what is paid for it...

We keep records of all the cars we purchase, and what we sell as parts or scrap, or the ird wouldn't be happy, dismantlers don't pay alot for cars, and there are always dodgy people in every industry.