Stolen GPS devices planted in rental cars

Japanese police report that a 30-year-old man has been indicted on charges stemming from stealing rental cars by planting global positioning system devices in them, and then using copied keys to steal them after they were returned to the rental company lots, according to AP reports.

Mitsuhisa Kobayashi, a resident of Itami, near Osaka, Japan, told police that he had stolen eight vehicles over the last year. The currently unemployed car assembly worker used his specialized knowledge to install a small GPS-type device inside the cars, in a way that would maintain an electric current and keep the device operational even when the engine was not running.

According to the same police sources, Kobayashi had the assistance of both his former wives, who helped him by collecting the cars from the rental firms, and then returning the cars after he had installed the devices.

The method used by Kobayashi in the first incident involved the removal of the dashboard panel in the car, placing the GPS device inside, copying the key and then returning it to the rental firm. Shortly afterward he would steal the car, after locating it by using the GPS device. The cars were each worth around 2 million yen - not exactly a budget vehicle.

According to the AP, when the Nishinomiya Police arrested him he was in possession of three stolen cars. As he explained to the investigators, “I wanted to drive my favorite cars. I sold the other five cars on the Internet.”

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