During routine outbound checks at the Krościenko road crossing on the Polish–Ukrainian frontier, Bieszczady Border Guard officers stopped a Ukrainian driver transporting a Peugeot Boxer on a trailer. A database query against the Schengen Information System and Interpol revealed the vehicle had been reported stolen in Italy in April 2025 and was worth around PLN 100,000 (€23,000). The van was seized and the driver questioned as a witness before being allowed to continue home; Polish police have taken over the investigation. Since January the local Border Guard unit has recovered more than 90 stolen vehicles—valued at over PLN 10 million—thanks to upgraded licence-plate recognition cameras and real-time data-sharing with EU partners. For fleet managers and relocation firms this case illustrates the advantages of Poland’s intensified exit controls, which now catch stolen company vehicles before they disappear across the EU’s external border. Insurers say the recovery rate for stolen commercial vehicles routed through Poland to Ukraine has jumped from 18 percent in 2024 to 41 percent this year. The incident also shows the importance of carrying full ownership documents when exporting vehicles for assignment abroad. Drivers without proper papers can be detained for up to 48 hours while ownership is verified, potentially delaying business shipments. Logistics companies should brief staff on recent changes: all trailers leaving Poland through Krościenko are now scanned against EUROPOL’s new cross-border cargo-crime database, and any mismatch automatically triggers a secondary inspection.
