Mikhail Shreer, Criminal Offenses Director of Yekaterinburg Department of Internal Affairs, announced at a press conference that 945 cars were stolen and 1,178 cars were hijacked in Yekaterinburg last year.

‘We managed to solve 96 cases related to car theft or hijacking in 2006 and 89 cases out of 1,011 in 2005,’ Mr. Shreer said.

‘Automobiles are usually stolen from ‘half-legal’ parking areas and from parking lots provided by trade centers. The most commonly stolen cars are VAZ-made ones and Toyota Land Cruiser and Toyota RAV4,’ he observed.