US Customs Crushes a Land Rover Defender

I can't say it happens too often, but here it is, in all its video glory. The destruction of a Land Rover by US Customs.  The Baltimore Sun reported that this vehicle was seized because the importer stated it was over 25 years old. However when you try and pull one over on customs, they do you like this. They seize your car, and then as a warning, they turn it into a little ball. Going as far as popping the tires, which I personally thought was a dick move.  Although illegally importing cars is a bigger dick move that I have talked about for years. Selling it at auction for export might not have been an option because of the altered VIN. So think about it. Do it right. Its much more difficult to do it correctly. Any idiot can illegally import cars.

The importer of a Land Rover Defender found at the port in April didn't get such an option. The vehicle, which had its identification number purposely altered because its import was illegal, was destroyed Tuesday with a giant metal claw at an undisclosed Maryland salvage yard.

That Land Rover model does not comply with National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and Environmental Protection Agency safety and emissions regulations, such as standards requiring air bags.

Import documents stated the seized Defender was 25 years of age or older, which would have made it legal to import, but it was not that old.

The four-wheel-drive truck — estimated to be worth $25,000 overseas but as much as $150,000 in the United States — was considered "illegal and unsafe," officials said. Dozens of similar Defender vehicles have been seized in recent months at ports around the country, much to the chagrin of Land Rover aficionados.

Read more: http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bs-bz-import-seizures-20130815,0,2894045.story#ixzz2dN3fzepc

Source: Baltimore Sun