Authorities have discovered masses of prestige cars ready to be smuggled abroad from British ports.
In total, 44 vehicles were intercepted and they are estimated to have a value of over £1.2 million. A joint operation was mounted by the police, the UK Border Force, the National Crime Agency and the Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service; they focused their attentions on vehicles carrying containers at ports including London Gateway, Hull, Tilbury and Southampton.
The confiscated vehicles were largely high value luxury cars made by Porsche, BMW, Audi and Range Rover; they even found Scania trucks and a Komatsu digger. Only eighteen of the vehicles were stolen from individual UK owners, the remainder were taken out on finance agreements then stolen leaving unpaid debts.
It is unclear where all of the cars would have ended their journeys but many are thought to be headed to the USA as well as Asian states such as Burma and Malaysia.
Tom Dowdall of the National Crime Agency said: “Exporting and selling stolen vehicles on the black market is a lucrative business for organised crime groups as they also avoid tax or import duties. We know some groups even pay for drug shipments with cars.“
This type of crime not only affects car owners but also manufacturers, insurance companies and vehicle-related businesses such as rental companies and garages.”
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