“I drove past it this morning and saw that the rims of almost all the cars had been stolen. About ten to fifteen brand new Mercedes are all standing on bricks”, the Groninger wrote to the city blog Sikkom. He expects the damage to be several tens of thousands of euros. “That’s a conservative estimate.”
Last night, thieves were able to strike hard at the Wensink on the Bornhomstraat in Groningen. The rims of almost all vehicles parked outside (about fifteen mainly brand new cars) have been stolen and the cars have been left on bricks.
The financial damage caused by the theft is estimated to be large; the rims of a new Mercedes are generally not very cheap. It is a more common problem that rims are stolen, partly because there is relatively little that can be done about it.
Eastern European gangs
The Groninger has called in the police. “I think I was the first to see it and immediately called the police.” Wensink itself cannot be reached, because the company is closed on Sundays.
It happens more often that rims are stolen. Five years ago there was a major theft at P+R Zernike, where the rims were stolen from at least four private cars. The BOVAG announced at the time that mainly gangs from Eastern Europe are on a rim raid in the Netherlands.
According to experts, there is not much that can be done about it. There are special bolts, but they are not so unique that no one has the key. What can help deterrence and in the investigation are camera images.