Overview
- Defendamos Buenos Aires and Defendamos la República Argentina estimate more than 80,000 cloned vehicles nationwide, with roughly 80% being utility trucks, 4x4s and medium or large pickups.
- Researchers describe coordinated rings in which one group commits the thefts and a second group forges titles, IDs and plates after “cooling” vehicles to avoid police alerts.
- Sales are promoted on Facebook Marketplace and OLX at appealing prices, and many buyers pay before verification and learn of the fraud only at the Vehicle Registry.
- Article 292 of the Penal Code provides three to eight years in prison for falsifying documents tied to vehicle identity or ownership.
- Recent enforcement examples include two women detained in Villa Lugano with a Volkswagen Nivus under a seizure order, with actions led by the Unidad Fiscal de Flagrancia Sur.