There are cases in which reality surpasses fiction and one of them, recent, takes us to Navarra. In this autonomous community, the regional police report that a patrol carrying out a citizen security check detected a vehicle that was circulating in very poor condition but which, however, had the MOT in force since that same day. Upon stopping the car, the agents identified the driver, who turned out to be an employee of the ITV station and had been in charge of carrying out the inspection.
The agents stopped the vehicle while they were on duty in the town of Elizondo. The police officers who were stationed next to the road were struck by a vehicle with defects and alterations “that clearly indicated that it was not suitable for circulation.” The most surprising thing about the case is that it had a favorable ITV from that same day.
The driver of the vehicle turned out to be an ITV station worker. He himself recognized it after being stopped and identified by the agents. He then explained that he had himself inspected the car, owned by a friend, and that he had only detected four minor deficiencies. Therefore, according to the worker, the result of the review was favorable. This meant that he had two months to repair the deficiencies without having to return to the ITV station for a new inspection.
The version given by the ITV worker is far from what the agents of the Automobile Crime Group found, who after locating the vehicle and speaking with its owner, seized it for a detailed inspection. In the examination to which the car was subjected, the Navarra regional police report that “numerous defects and important reforms were detected, which were not reflected in the inspection report and which would have led to a negative result.”
In total, 1 very serious deficiency, 39 serious ones and 7 mild ones were detected. Although all of the deficiencies found in the vehicle have not been disclosed in detail, the Navarra regional police have published a photograph on social networks in which the car’s exhaust is seen secured with a wire.
Logically, the vehicle obtained a negative inspection result, as expected, so under these conditions it could not circulate on public roads, due to the danger it posed to road safety. The vehicle had to be transported to the workshop by crane and undergo a new inspection within two months to verify that the deficiencies had been corrected.
The provincial police of Navarra, EFE reports, have initiated criminal proceedings against the worker for the crimes of document falsification and prevarication, through the corresponding report that was sent to the judicial authority. The employee faces a prison sentence ranging from three to six years and a fine of six to twelve months.
The case has put the police force on alert, which is investigating whether more cases of fraudulent inspections could have been committed. For this reason, the investigations remain open.
