When a licence plate goes missing from a foreign embassy's vehicle in the very centre of Skopje, it isn't a run-of-the-mill petty theft - it's a potential gateway to more serious offences. The Interior Ministry has confirmed it is investigating exactly such a case.

According to police, the theft was reported on 20 June at 13:20 at the Centar police station, and the plate itself was taken from a foreign embassy's vehicle parked in the Centar municipality, in the period between 15 and 18 June, during the evening hours. It was not disclosed which embassy is involved, nor whether there are cameras that could help with identification.

The Ministry stated that "all necessary measures and activities are being taken to find the perpetrator and fully clarify the case". Why does the police say thefts like this get special attention? Because stolen plates - especially diplomatic ones - can be misused to commit other crimes, from simply dodging fines to something far heavier.

The question that remains is simple, but uncomfortable: if in the centre of the capital, from a vehicle with diplomatic status, a plate can be removed unnoticed across an entire weekend, how safe really are the ordinary vehicles parked on the same streets? The theft is small, but what it reveals about surveillance in the centre is not.