A Ferrari 360 Spider convertible, with the classic red tone of the exclusive Italian brand and for sale for less than 30,000 euros, is not something that goes unnoticed on the internet. Nor for the National Police, who detected the offer on a website specialized in the sale of second-hand vehicles. The scent of a possible scam set off alarms for the Cybercrime team of the National Police of Murcia, who located the car while its owner was displaying it on the streets of the El Altet district of Elche (Alicante). It turned out to be an “excellent replica of the original model,” according to police sources. The driver was arrested for an alleged crime against industrial property.
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The investigation began last April. The agents of the cybercrime group of the Murcia headquarters scour internet pages and social networks in search of possible scams or stolen vehicles subsequently put up for sale. They detected the Ferrari offer and the price caught their attention. “Generally,” explain sources from the National Police, “these vehicles usually go on sale second-hand with prices ranging between 70,000 and 120,000 euros,” depending on “their condition and age.” In this case, it was less than 30,000. It looked like a Ferrari, showed the lines of a Ferrari, the designs of a Ferrari, and the logos of a Ferrari. But it couldn’t be a Ferrari.
The investigators analyzed the suspicious ad, which, like all, had left a trail of metadata and had been uploaded to the internet from a device with an IP address, easy to identify. The investigations led the agents to the province of Alicante, where on May 8 they located the alleged luxury vehicle while it was circulating through El Altet, the district of Elche where the airport is located. At first glance, it lacked no detail. “Black horse standing on its hind legs, yellow background of the shield in homage to the city of Modena where the brand was founded, Italian flag reaffirming the national pride of the racing team, and SF initials (Scuderia Ferrari),” the Police detail. It would even have had “the necessary permits in the industry reform and ITV,” the same sources continue, “having been adapted in its weights and measures to administrative requirements.”
A more thorough review, both of the car and the documentation, revealed that, in reality, it was an extraordinary forgery. The manufacturer “had used a steel monocoque chassis from another brand, to build on it” the replica of the legendary Italian car, “with fiberglass and other low-cost materials.” It had not come out of the mythical Pininfarina factory, but from a workshop in Alicante. Faced with incriminating evidence of the illicit use of identifying and registered elements of the brand based in Maranello (Italy), the agents seized the vehicle and arrested the suspect, who had no criminal record, for a crime against industrial property. Subsequently, he was released on charges and is awaiting a court summons.
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