Stolen supercars headed to Dubai seized in UK
Police in the UK have found the cars of two Premier League footballers that were stolen earlier this year.
The luxury vehicles, which include a Ferrari, were hidden in a shipping container scheduled to be exported to Dubai from London, the Essex Police said.
The vehicles were discovered by the Stolen Vehicle Intelligence Unit (SVIU) of the Essex Police from the London Gateway Port in Thurrock, Essex. They were stolen separately from neighbouring counties.
The recovered cars include a Ferrari and a Range Rover Sport. Police did not name the Premier League footballers who own the vehicles, but said they have “more than 100 international caps between them”. The cars have been returned to their respective owners, the official release said.
The high-end cars are among the 517 stolen vehicles having a combined value of over Dh73,907,542 that the Essex Police has managed to track down so far this year.
The Essex Police said one of the footballers reached its team base to thank the unit for returning his vehicle. Police constable Phil Pentelow, who helped locate the vehicle, said, “He was genuinely thankful and taken aback by the lengths we had gone to. His car was clearly very dear to him, and he was very impressed with the service he’d had from the police.”
“Even though he plays for one of my team’s biggest rivals, he was a nice guy and down-to-earth. It was good to help him,” he added.
Explaining the modus operandi of thieves, police said once a car gets stolen, the miscreants aim to sell it as soon as possible. They dismantle the car and then either ship the parts or the whole car to areas such as the Middle East and Africa. The vehicles can then be sold for even two to three times more than they would cost in the UK, the release added.
To curb such crimes, the Essex Police launched Operation Ignition this summer bringing together the SVIU, Roads Policing and investigators.
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source: khaleejtimes
