It is true that all Croatian inmates of a fully occupied Toyota were able to present the necessary papers during the inspection by officers of the Piding border police at Piding. However, when checking the vehicle, the police were puzzled on Tuesday afternoon: There was no liability insurance for the Toyota from Baden-Württemberg since December 2020.
Just a few kilometers before leaving for Austria, they stopped the car that was on its way to Croatia. With the involvement of the local police station, the confirmation of the negative “insurance endorsement” did not take long, the officials report. Because of the violation of the compulsory insurance law, the control officers drove with the responsible driver – including the dismantled or unstamped license plates – to the office in Urwies for further processing.
In the truest sense of the word, the investigators now also scrutinized the “suspicious” TÜV sticker. The professionals quickly and clearly recognized the fake sticker. The stamp entry in the registration papers was also wrong. The fact that this was done with an original stamp, which was in the police search with his individual number, made the matter even more interesting, according to the officials – but also more work-intensive for the investigators of the veil investigators.
Little by little, the following story came to light through the investigation: Two Croatians – who grew up in the same village – had agreed to buy a used Toyota RAV4 in mid-2020 without major contract negotiations. Without written agreements, the buyer was allowed to continue with the “old” registration. But he should pay for the insurance.
Since the insurance company had not received any more payments for some time, the SUV was marked with a corresponding note in the “Vehicle Register”.
The TÜV badge stuck to the rear license plate had puzzled the inspecting officers because of its color scheme. When scraping off the “approval stamp”, the officers from the Piding Border Police Inspection therefore took a closer look and landed a hit: The badge, apparently produced on their own using a printer, and the TÜV stamp on the approval certificate turned out to be forgeries. Whereby the entry was faked by means of a lost original stamp.
Both the “current” owner, a 36-year-old Croat, and the seller, a fellow countryman of the same age, now have to answer for various “traffic offenses”. Incidentally, the Toyota was forcibly parked at the Piding-Süd tank and rest area without the confiscated license plates.
According to the police, who is responsible for what or how the “vehicle sales among friends” actually took place will now be the subject of further investigations. Both Croatians must – if the criminal offenses are confirmed – face severe penalties. And don’t forget: The TÜV has now expired around two years. A new registration will probably no longer be so easy, the police suspect. − red
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