The US Government Wants To Know Why ISIS Has So Many Damn Toyotas

Oct. 07, 2015 2:26 PM ET by Michael Hines / 75 Comments

And Toyota's answer is...?

Have you ever wondered why terrorists groups and rebel militias around the world always seem to have tons of Toyota trucks and SUVs? The United States government has wondered the same thing, specifically about ISIS. In fact, ABC News has learned that counter-terror officials actually asked the automaker how so many of its trucks (the Hilux/Tacoma) and SUVs (the Land Cruiser) have wound up in the group's motor pool. For the record, no one was questioning Toyota about selling these cars to ISIS directly or indirectly.

Officials from the Terror Financing unit of the Treasury Department wanted to know about the supply chain in the Middle East and dealerships and sales patterns in the area. The main concern was the total amount of Toyotas ISIS has and the fact that a good chunk of those appear to be new. Toyota has a strict policy of not selling cars and trucks to people who may be terrorists or paramilitaries, which is better than nothing but obviously not effective. ABC News gives a few reasons as to how ISIS could get their hands on so many Toyotas, from middlemen buying them outside combat zones and then smuggling them in to sympathizers stealing them from Australia and shipping them to the Middle East.

Source Credits: abcnews.go.com

The US Government Wants To Know Why ISIS Has So Many Damn Toyotas

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