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Marek Ernest Goliancik, Director of Claim Management Department at BTA, says that car theft numbers are dropping each year which is related to active police work.

According to Goliancik, sometimes only certain parts are stolen and sold at a high price on the black market. In addition, the company has noticed that the number of instances when vehicles are maliciously damaged have increased while losses amount to several thousands of litas.

The specialist says that usually car mirrors, sound systems or global positioning devices are stolen. Losses after such damage vary between LTL 1,000-10,000 (EUR 290-2,900).

The director says that stolen vehicle trends are changing each year depending on the demand in the market. Several years ago business class BMW and Audi cars were among the most frequently stolen ones. However, the situation changed once owners started installing high quality security systems. Now, Honda and Toyota vehicles fall victim to crime most frequently.

Daumantas Knipas, representative of Sherlog car security systems, says that most car theft instances are registered in Vilnius and Palanga. Cars with foreign number plates are becoming targeted more often. Therefore, thieves choose cities visited by tourists or businessmen on work related. Stolen vehicle is left for several days in a parking lot of apartment block in order to find out whether a search system is installed. If in that time the vehicle is not retrieved by the owner it is transported abroad.