Tracking technology in the stolen car led police to a shipping container, where another stolen car of the same type was found.
- This is a very good day for us. That tracking technology can lead to more stolen objects being found. The thieves probably didn't expect this, says Per Waldemar Simonsen, Division Director for Fleet and Asset Tracking at GSGroup.
It was at Bromma in Stockholm that a woman walked out into her courtyard one Sunday morning and discovered that the car was gone.
- You hardly believe it at first. That one's own car can be stolen after being parked in front of the house. But unfortunately, we see that this is not a one-off, says Simonsen.
The theft is a reality. The car is gone and only bits of broken glass and wheel tracks remain.
Search operation begin
The stolen vehicle has the tracking unit Spotguard installed. After gathering her thoughts, the woman contacts both the police and the search team at GSGroup.
- We immediately start a search for the stolen car, and after a short time receive the first signals from the tracking device, says Simonsen.
Challenging search operation
The first signals show that the car is south of Stockholm, but this will prove to be a demanding operation for the team.
- The smart tracking devices can be put into so-called "tracking mode" in the event of theft, for example. This means that they send signals back to us more often. We're basically saying to the system, 'Now we're trying to find you, tell us where you are'. The stronger the signals, the better.
The signals this tracker emits are weak and harder to decipher than normal. There may be several reasons for this. Jamming is a known problem, but criminals are good at trying to disrupt and destroy signals emitted in other ways.
Here, however, GSGroup's own technology, consisting of 3 different positioning techniques, more than 30 years of experience in tracking, as well as an incredibly good cooperation with the police proves valuable.
- The signals from the tracking device in the stolen car are eventually localized to come from a shipping container that was placed out in the woods in an open area south of Stockholm.
The police are given the location and arrive at the scene. When they open the container, it turns out that it contains not only our customer's stolen Range Rover, but also an additional Range Rover - which also turns out to be stolen.
The cars are from 2015 and 2016, and have a combined value of approximately 65,150 Euros and both cars were insured by Folksam.
- It feels good when our technology and skilled and committed employees once again manage to recover stolen objects. There is good interaction between people and technology, and here I would also like to commend the police and thank them for another good cooperation, says Simonsen.
