Most people don't know where their stolen car ends up

How does a car stolen from a driveway in the UK or Europe make its way to a different continent, and end up for sale thousands of miles away? There is no single route, or criminal organization controlling this trade. Instead it relies on a network of specialist, and the involvement of private-sector actors who either knowingly cooperate, or may be coerced. Between 2023 and 2025, the Global Organized Crime Index recorded an increase in the influence in the influence of private-sector actors - the steepest rise among all the criminal actor types monitored.We examine how vehicles are moved into overseas markets, the actors who enable the trade, and why it remains so difficult to stop.