Organised crime drives shift in UK vehicle theft, police warn
More than 200 people have been arrested after a national operation targeting organised vehicle crime, as police warned that the illicit trade in stolen vehicle parts is becoming an increasingly lucrative international market.
During the latest phase of Operation Bumblebee, officers from 12 police forces executed almost 100 warrants, dismantled ten suspected “chop shops” and recovered vehicles, car parts, cash, cryptocurrency, drugs and weapons worth millions of pounds.
The National Police Chiefs’ Council said around 115,000 vehicles were stolen across the UK last year and argued that theft is increasingly linked to organised criminal networks exploiting demand for parts in the UK and overseas.
While acknowledging the scale of the problem, Detective Chief Inspector Kate Brummell, head of operations at Opal, said the improved partnership between policing, vehicle manufacturers and private firms, is having a real and positive impact.
“There’s no denying that the nature of car crime has changed in recent years. It’s now much less about opportunistic theft and instead is far more likely to be linked to organised crime and other types of offending.
“We know that the vehicles are being taken away and swapped for drugs, even firearms in some cases, and the types of things seized when we take enforcement action just demonstrates the scale of that poly-criminality.
“The demand for parts is really high at the moment, both in the UK and overseas. It’s far more difficult to trace individual parts than it is an entire car, and it’s also far easier to export parts, which is why we’re seeing an increasing number of ‘chop-shops’ popping up.”