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Madrid, Spain — Spanish police say they have cracked down on a string of workshops that provided customers with mechanical and software services that enabled their cars to cheat emission checks in a scam similar to that which has engulfed Volkswagen.
Tip-off
Following a tip-off, police discovered that eight workshops in Madrid were removing diesel filters and reprograming software so that motors could deliver more power, be cheaper to service and fool emissions testing equipment.
Read: How VW's defeat device works
The workshops charged customers $112-$224 to remove diesel particulate filters, thus improving performance and reducing servicing costs that can amount to $1345.
The reprogrammed software then made the harmful emissions issued by the tampered-with engines undetectable, a police statement said Saturday (October 3 2015).
Police did not immediately say how many people were arrested in the investigation.
