Wednesday, February 20, 2008

LoJack reveals 2007 top worldwide stolen vehicle recoveries

Westwood, Massachusetts, (ANTARA News/PRNewswire-AsiaNet) - LoJack Corporation (Nasdaq: LOJN) and its Global Licensee Network -- which includes organizations in more than 30 countries in North America, Latin America, Europe, Africa and Asia -- today released highlights of their top worldwide stolen vehicle and commercial recovery stories of 2007.


This year's stories reflect the important role the Network's recovery systems play in helping society by not only curbing the growing global problem of vehicle theft, but also by assisting police apprehend the criminals -- and bring an end to organized theft rings -- that are often behind this and other more serious crimes. "On a global scale, vehicle theft is a serious, ongoing issue that not only impacts individuals who have their cars stolen, but also society at large," said Richard T. Riley, Chairman of the Board and CEO, LoJack Corporation. "As our Licensee Network grows, we're proud that together we have an increasing impact on recovering stolen vehicles, helping police apprehend criminals and putting a stop to organized theft rings around the world."

Highlights of the Top 2007 Recoveries:

United Kingdom: Tracker Leads Police to Record Drug Haul
Tracker led Rotherham police to a record haul of heroin and crack cocaine, a machine gun and ammunition. Officers tracked a stolen Volkswagen Golf to a garage and found the vehicle loaded with drugs, valued on the street at nearly 1 million pounds Sterling. The suspect pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 11 years in prison.

Colombia: Cross-Border Coordination Among Three Countries Recovers
Stolen Excavator A Caterpillar Excavator was stolen in Hackensack, New Jersey, then shipped inside a container from Charleston, South Carolina to a port in Venezuela. U.S. police activated the system and the Venezuelan licensee picked up the activation code while the container was moved to the border city of Cucuta in Colombia. The Colombian licensee was informed, located the container and recovered the excavator with the help of the Colombian police. This recovery demonstrates the power of cross-border collaboration and highlights why LoJack is the global leader in stolen asset recovery.

Italy/France: Lamborghini Recovery Halts Cross Border Crime
LoJack's French licensee was notified that a customer had his Lamborghini Gallardo stolen while he was vacationing in Italy. Thieves had broken into the house at dawn where the owner was vacationing and, using sleeping gas to subdue the victim, stole the keys to his Lamborghini. LoJack's French licensee immediately reported the theft to LoJack Italia, which promptly found and recovered the vehicle. Two thieves were arrested.

South Africa: Man Hijacked On Same Day, Same Hour Two Years in a Row
For many, the horror of being hijacked is often most vividly relived on the anniversary of the traumatic event. For one Tracker customer, however, that horror was relived all too literally when he was hijacked in the same place in South Africa, driving the same car, on the same day, during the same hour, exactly one year later. The fortunate thing was that in both instances, the Tracker System with the support of South African Police Service recovered the stolen vehicle and, in the second instance, apprehended two armed men.

Uruguay: Vehicle Stolen in Uruguay and Found in Brazil A Toyota Hilux was stolen in Montevideo, Uruguay on July 17. The system was activated in Uruguay and Argentinean and Brazilian licensees were also informed of the theft. The vehicle was recovered the next morning in the Brazilian city of Porto Alegre (890km or 560 miles away from where it was stolen). The thief was arrested and the vehicle returned to the owner in perfect condition.

Canada: Boomerang Tracking Helps Police Bust $300,000 Chop Shop
Canadian-based Boomerang not only helped the owner of a Jeep Liberty find his stolen vehicle in Terrebonne, Quebec in less than 30 minutes, but also busted a major chop shop containing 17 other intact stolen vehicles, 65 car/truck motors, 35 pairs of air bags and four vehicles with modified Vehicle Identification Numbers. Total value of recovery is valued at more than $300,000.

U.S.:
LoJack System Leads Chicago-Area Police to Bust $900k Construction Theft

Ring Through tracking a LoJack-equipped Internationl truck, Chicago-area police discovered a major chop shop involving several stolen trucks and more than 30 pieces of equipment valued at $900,000. The site was declared a "hazmat" zone because so much diesel fuel and other toxic substances had been dumped on the ground without any precautions. Police apprehended criminals behind this huge organized crime ring.

About LoJack's Network of Licensees

LoJack Corporation invented the Stolen Vehicle Recovery category 20+ years ago and today its Global Licensee Network -- which spans more than 30 countries in North America, Latin America, Europe, Africa and Asia -- is the global leader in recovering mobile assets. The Network shares the common goal of fighting vehicle theft worldwide and helping police apprehend the criminals behind this and other more serious crimes. The Licensee Network leverages highly effective stolen vehicle recovery technology and processes that have delivered a 90 percent global success rate in recovering stolen assets. In total, the Network has recovered more than 200,000 stolen assets worldwide, amounting to more than $4 billion (USD).

CONTACTS:
US: Paul McMahon, +1-781-251-4130, pmcmahon@lojack.com
Canada: Mark Roth, +1-877-777-8722,mroth@boomerangtracking.com
South Africa: Gareth Crocker, +27 082 78 78 757,gcrocker@tracker.co.za
Italy: Mara Capelli, +39 02 36589300,mcapelli@lojack.com.it
UK: Claire Foster, +44 208 285 8682,claire.foster@rbs.co.uk
VSR: Julian Arango, jarango@trackervsrgroup.com

CONTACT: US:
Paul McMahon,
+1-781-251-4130,
pmcmahon@lojack.com, or
Canada:
Mark Roth,
+1-877-777-8722,
mroth@boomerangtracking.com, or
South Africa:
Gareth Crocker,
+27-082-78-78-757,
gcrocker@tracker.co.za, or
Italy:
Mara Capelli,
+39-02-36589300,
mcapelli@lojack.com.it, or
UK:
Claire Foster,
+44-208-285-8682,
claire.foster@rbs.co.uk, or
VSR:
Julian Arango,
jarango@trackervsrgroup.com,
all for LoJack Corporation
Web site: http://www.lojack.com
(LOJN)
SOURCE: LoJack Corporation

COPYRIGHT © 2008 - ANTARANEWS

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