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ARCHIVED - Belgian man arrested over one-million-euro car park scam at Alicante airport, Spain
The 50-year-old used false license plates to avoid paying full parking fees at Alicante-Elche Airport on the Costa Blanca
The National Police have arrested a 50-year-old Belgian man over an alleged one-million-euro car parking scam at Alicante-Elche Airport.
It's believed the alleged fraudster, who operated a vehicle storage business, had been using a simple method of switching number plates for up to four years, dodging up to a million euros in parking fees.
According to police, the arrestee would drive into the car park in a vehicle with false numbers plates, park it up and then exchange the plates with those of another vehicle which had been parked at the site for months. He would then drive out in the second car, clean it and return it to the client.
In this way, the Belgian man only had to pay the minimum 10 to 15 minute parking fee even if the vehicle had spent a year at the facility.
Private security guards at the airport eventually became suspicious of various "anomalies" in the daily transit of some vehciles and the police were contacted.
After several months of discreet surveillance, investigators arrested the alleged fraudster and discovered more than 20 bent license plates used to carry out the scam and more than 170 vehicles involved in the scheme.
The 50-year-old has been charged with fraud and document forgery and the case is now in the hands of the Examining Magistrates' Court in Elche.
Image: Policía Nacional
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