Stolen cars recovered as suspected chop shop uncovered by officers

Officers from North Worcestershire recovered four stolen cars and uncovered a suspected chop shop on the border with West Midlands on Friday (15 March).

Police acted swiftly following two car key burglaries in the Marlbrook area on Wednesday 13 March which led them to the site in the Hagley/Halesowen area on Friday.

The two cars stolen were recovered and a further two stolen cars recovered at the premises together with hundreds of suspected stolen car parts and more than £5,000 in cash.

Three men, aged 36, 40 and 47, from the West Midlands area were arrested at the scene on suspicion of handling stolen goods. They have all been bailed while enquiries continue.

Detective Sergeant Kelle Westwood from North Worcestershire CID said: “This was a great result following good detective work from our team here in North Worcestershire acting quickly following the two car key burglaries in Marlbrook.

“Intel work led us to the site where we have recovered four stolen cars and hundreds of pieces of evidence of a wider operation involving the use of stolen car parts and cash at this site resulting in the three arrests which we are now investigating further.

“We are pleased to have shut down this suspected chop shop. Chop shops are a place where criminals sell stolen cars to be stripped for parts where they are often used to repair a car that’s been written off by an insurance company and bought by the chop shop as salvage.

“The cars sold by chop shops are not only fuelling a market for car thieves, but they are also botched together by people often with no qualifications and therefore very dangerous to all road users.”

This targeted activity forms part of our ongoing #OpEnzyme operation where we are proactively seeking to make stolen cars too hot to handle in north Worcestershire.

DS Westwood added: “Op Enzyme is a cross-border, partnership campaign to combat a rise in car key burglaries and other vehicle related offences reported in and around Bromsgrove and Redditch.

“You can find advice about protecting your vehicle from criminals on our website at Keeping vehicles safe | Crime prevention | West Mercia Police .”

JI, Corporate Communications