The General Court in Riyadh has convicted and sentenced a gang of thieves to imprisonment and lashes for stealing cars and cutting them up to be sold as spare parts. The head of the gang was sentenced to 10 years and 1,500 lashes, the second, third, fourth and fifth accomplices were given eight years in jail and 1,000 lashes each. The sixth member was sentenced to two years in prison and 300 lashes. The Riyadh Police caught the gang at a workshop, which belongs to one of the men, which was equipped for cutting up stolen cars. The security forces who raided the workshop, found a number of stolen cars, including 12 brand new vehicles, some of which were in the process of being dismantled. Five of the gangsters confessed that among the methods they used to steal cars was to drive into the rear of an intended victim's vehicle. The sixth accomplice confessed that his role was to receive the damaged cars, buy them at low prices from members of the gang, and then dismantle them and sell the parts.
