At VW in Wolfsburg, the security checks for freight forwarders were apparently quite lax for a long time.
A thief took advantage of this and stole eight brand-new cars at once.
Companies put a lot of effort into protecting against thieves.
But at the largest European car manufacturer
VW
, of
all
places
, there were glaring gaps.
How bad the security deficiencies are, now reveals a procedure before the
district court of
Wolfsburg.
Between 2016 and 2018, a total of
70 brand-new cars were
stolen there - under the eyes of plant security.
Wolfsburg - The factory security of the Wolfsburg car manufacturer VW * cannot complain about a lack of responsibility.
The tasks of the security team include receiving visitors, protecting prototypes and events, and averting danger.
Above all, the troops take the point of averting danger very carefully in Corona * times.
When it became mandatory to wear masks at the headquarters in Wolfsburg last year in the fight against the virus, the factory sheriffs tightened the reins.
In the meantime, the department recently cheered via the press, the proportion of
VW
employees without protective masks is just 0.4 percent.
However, the department was not always that efficient.
Of all things, the factory security officers have apparently not been paying so much attention to the snazzy new cars.
A look at the statistics shows that.
Between 2016 and 2018 alone, a total of
70 brand-new cars
with a total value of three million were stolen from
the guards
- directly on the factory premises on the Mittelland Canal.
VW: The company was so easily tricked
How easy it was for the perpetrators is revealed by a current trial before the Wolfsburg district court.
The public prosecutor's office accuses the defendant of stealing a total of eight new cars on the factory premises in October 2018.
According to investigating authorities, the defendant is said to have been unusually brazen.
According to the findings of the investigators, the man from Pernik in Bulgaria is said to have passed the factory gate unmolested on October 9, 2018 with an empty semi-trailer and driven into the loading area.
There, the 32-year-old is said to have charged three Golf * and five Tiguan and slid unhindered to Bulgaria with his booty.
Just a few weeks after the tour, seven of the eight cars were registered in the Greater Sofia area.
The truck driver is said to have kept the remaining vehicle - a brand new Golf.
VW: Thieves take advantage of lax security controls
In his lucrative foray, the man has apparently taken advantage of the lax security checks at the Wolfsburg parent plant.
Because before the vehicles were picked up in Wolfsburg, the drivers did not have to present any papers.
Instead, they were simply waved through at the factory gate.
In addition, the man was evidently familiar with the standard factory procedures at the time.
After the final inspection, the vehicles are given a label with all important data such as the chassis number or delivery destination.
The cars are then parked on the loading bays, usually in groups of eight.
That's how many vehicles fit on a car transporter.
VW: Put the key in the new vehicles
The keys remain in place to make loading faster.
The drivers load the vehicles, scan the labels on the windshield and present the loading list to the security officers when they leave.
In the case of the stolen cars, the drivers apparently tricked the inspectors at the exit with old loading lists that had not been handed in for years.
There was no comparison between the papers and the loading lists for health and safety reasons.
It was said that climbing on the semi-trailers was too dangerous.
The investigation started after the VW logisticians sounded the alarm.
They noticed that brand new cars kept disappearing without a trace on the factory premises.
An evaluation of video material did not provide any clarification either.
The recordings may only be kept for five days and were therefore initially no longer available.
The perpetrator could only be determined after the company had turned on the criminal police.
To this end, they installed their own cameras to monitor the loading parking spaces and kept the video recordings.
So the investigators discovered the Bulgarian.
VW revises security concept
In the meantime, VW has apparently plugged the glaring security gap at the entrance and exit of the car transporter.
It could end badly for the accused.
The public prosecutor's office demands two years and 10 months imprisonment - without parole.
The verdict is expected on Friday, February 5th.
* Merkur.de is part of the nationwide Ippen Digital editorial network.