There are increasing concerns about the extent at which criminals are using share cars to transport drugs around Brussels. Share car company Miles and industry federation Renta Solutions both recognise the problem but warn: "Countering criminals is very difficult."
In the past, rental cars came under considerable criticism after being used for terrorist purposes. Convicted terrorist Salah Abdeslam picked up accomplices from Brussels in Paris by share car, but the criminal use of rental and share cars goes wider, the public prosecutor's office told media outlet Bruzz.
The use of share and rental cars brings several advantages for criminals. The cars are registered in the name of the owner, not the renter. In case of a seizure, the rental company loses the car, not the driver. Moreover, drivers can operate in relative anonymity: ANPR (automatic numberplate recognition) cameras on the roads will not immediately link a driver to his or her identity card.
On what scale share and rental cars are being used for criminal purposes in Brussels is not known. The federal police do not keep separate statistics on the criminal use of these vehicles. The Brussels public prosecutor's office does not possess any figures to indicate the scale of the problem either.
Poppy, Miles and industry federation respond
At share car company Miles, communications officer Nora Goette assures us that it is a "minority of customers". The company reveals that it occasionally receives requests to cooperate in a judicial investigation. In certain cases, the company also files a report of its own on account of suspicious behaviour by a driver.
Share car company Poppy has no information about the problem of drug trafficking by drivers using its cars. "We are not aware of our cars being used for such purposes. We’ve never been informed about it by the police," says marketing director Pierre de Schaetzen. "We occasionally get requests from a magistrate to share information about the use of a vehicle at a certain time. In doing so, we are never told what allegations are involved."
At Renta Solutions, the Belgian industry federation, director Frank Van Gool reveals that "nobody wants criminals in their cars". He points to an important measure introduced over five years ago. "We no longer accept cash" says Van Gool. "On the one hand, it helps to combat money laundering, and on the other, we force criminals to expose part of themselves by requesting payment by card”.
Still, Van Gool does not deny that fraud involving share and rental cars is possible, despite efforts to counter it. Renta Solutions wants more measures to be introduced to discourage criminal abuse including the ability to share more information. "We are trying to stay ahead of criminals, but there are obstacles” He points to the privacy issue".
"Today, Poppy cannot alert other companies like Miles to certain customers who have broken the rules. To release customer information, you need an official request from the police or the judiciary," says Van Gool. "If you don't have that, then, as a rental company, you must first get written consent from the customer approving the use of their data."
Risk profiles could even be shared beyond rental companies. Van Gool thinks of cooperation with the government. As far as he is concerned, rental companies could willingly receive information from police and public prosecutors with regard to suspicious profiles. As an example, Van Gool refers to the aviation sector, where airport employees are given access to lists of suspicious persons.