Family cars nicked for scrap
THOUSANDS of family cars are being stolen, crushed and sold for scrap by millionaire criminal gangs.
Motorists wake to find their cars gone after being loaded onto trucks overnight.
The vehicles are crushed into cubes in three minutes before being shipped to China, where they are sold for £200 a ton of steel.
The thefts are fuelled by the metal’s soaring price – which has DOUBLED in 18 months as the Chinese build dozens of skyscrapers.
Gangs in West London, Hertfordshire and the Thames Valley have made millions, say police.
Some are raking in £30,000 a month – and once a car is crushed police find it almost impossible to trace it to an owner.
About 150 cops raided 30 scrap yards yesterday as part of an operation designed to thwart the trade.
Nine people were arrested for handling stolen goods and two nicked cars were found.
Superintendent Matt Gardner said thefts of secondhand cars in Harrow, North West London, had rocketed by 50 per cent.
He said: “There was a time when you would have to pay someone £50 to take away your car, now the steel in it is worth up to £200. This is what the criminals have latched on to.
"Vehicle theft is seen as a victimless crime, but these cars are being stolen from people with not a lot of money.”
He added: “We have seen a rise in thefts, whether it is a Rolls Royce, a Bentley or a Mark III Cortina.
“We are targeting the scrap yards because then the thieves have nowhere to take the cars.”
Police recently swooped on one scrap metal dealer in Hertfordshire and found that 32 of the 78 cars on his lot were nicked.
Advertisement
The man, who is facing charges, allegedly had £490,000 in an offshore account and £28,000 in cash.
The number of scrap metal firms has dramatically increased.
Many are run from home with just a pickup truck.
As well as cars, police in Harrow have also seen a rise in the theft of steel road grilles – and even a FOOTBRIDGE has vanished.
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article1347211.ece
[email protected]
THOUSANDS of family cars are being stolen, crushed and sold for scrap by millionaire criminal gangs.
Motorists wake to find their cars gone after being loaded onto trucks overnight.
The vehicles are crushed into cubes in three minutes before being shipped to China, where they are sold for £200 a ton of steel.
The thefts are fuelled by the metal’s soaring price – which has DOUBLED in 18 months as the Chinese build dozens of skyscrapers.
Gangs in West London, Hertfordshire and the Thames Valley have made millions, say police.
Some are raking in £30,000 a month – and once a car is crushed police find it almost impossible to trace it to an owner.
About 150 cops raided 30 scrap yards yesterday as part of an operation designed to thwart the trade.
Nine people were arrested for handling stolen goods and two nicked cars were found.
Superintendent Matt Gardner said thefts of secondhand cars in Harrow, North West London, had rocketed by 50 per cent.
He said: “There was a time when you would have to pay someone £50 to take away your car, now the steel in it is worth up to £200. This is what the criminals have latched on to.
"Vehicle theft is seen as a victimless crime, but these cars are being stolen from people with not a lot of money.”
He added: “We have seen a rise in thefts, whether it is a Rolls Royce, a Bentley or a Mark III Cortina.
“We are targeting the scrap yards because then the thieves have nowhere to take the cars.”
Police recently swooped on one scrap metal dealer in Hertfordshire and found that 32 of the 78 cars on his lot were nicked.
Advertisement
The man, who is facing charges, allegedly had £490,000 in an offshore account and £28,000 in cash.
The number of scrap metal firms has dramatically increased.
Many are run from home with just a pickup truck.
As well as cars, police in Harrow have also seen a rise in the theft of steel road grilles – and even a FOOTBRIDGE has vanished.
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article1347211.ece
[email protected]