British security and law-enforcement officers have bust a vehicle-and-bicycle theft syndicate operated by international criminals based in the United Kingdom. The officers confiscated Land Rovers, BMWs, hundreds of bicycles and a significant quantity of vehicle parts stolen from London, Surrey, Islington, South Woodford and other British cities. The merchandise was confiscated yesterday in shipping containers placed at the port of Felixstowe, Suffolk; pending transportation to Kenya and Cyprus.
The bust is a success for Operation Endeavour which is being conducted by the London metropolitan police in association with other security agencies and police forces from other cities. The operation targeted transnational organized crime syndicates engaged in theft of “smart or keyless” vehicles. In this case, the criminals had packaged the stolen vehicles, vehicle parts and bicycles in shipping containers and covered them with old mattresses so as to hide the merchandise from Britain’s border inspectors.
Five Range Rovers that were to be shipped to Kenya were identified as vehicles stolen from Surrey, Islington and South Woodford. No arrests were immediately made in relation to the impounded containers but the ACPO Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service (AVCIS) is continuing with investigations into the matter.
Nonetheless, more than 83 persons were arrested by law enforcement officers and more than 220 vehicles impounded during a nationwide clampdown on “keyless” vehicle theft. Among them, 16 individuals were arrested for vehicle theft while the rest were accused of possessing offensive weapons, money laundering, illegal driving and burglary.
Operation Endeavour involved more than 800 police officers from the metropolitan police and the police services of Essex, Surrey, Kent, Thames and Hampshire.
The implicated transnational crime syndicate is run by Eastern European gangs who steal vehicles – by means of “keyless” theft techniques (which involves bypassing the keyless entry mechanism) – from London and adjacent areas; and driven to vehicle disassembly and modification points – christened “chop houses” or “slaughterhouse” by the criminals. All the “slaughterhouses” were located in the Home Counties. From the “slaughterhouses”, the vehicles or vehicles parts were disguisedly packed in containers and shipped to Kenya, Cyprus and other nations.
