Police raid suspected ‘chop shop’

The vehicles, estimated to have a total value of £120,000, were discovered at a lock-up garage in Ing Street, Laisterdyke.

Police raided the premises on Tuesday evening, following a tip-off from a member of the public that it was being used as a ‘chop shop,’ where stolen vehicles are taken to bits to sell the parts to order.

The officers found an Audi A6 and a Volkswagen Golf, believed to have been stolen in Bradford; a Range Rover, thought to have been stolen in Wakefield; and a Mazda 2, alleged to have been stolen in Sheffield.

The vehicles are thought to have been taken in Hanoi-style burglaries, where offenders break into properties to steal the keys before taking the vehicles.

The cars were still mostly intact when police raided the premises. The vehicles have now been taken to a secret location to be forensically examined before being returned to their owners.

The alarm was raised by a member of the public who had seen the premises and was suspicious about what was happening there.

Two men, aged 24 and 25, were arrested on suspicion of burglary and later released on bail pending further inquiries.

One was arrested at the premises and the other was detained in the local area following police investigations. They are both believed to have worked at the garage.

A police spokesman explained that a ‘chop shop’ housed vehicles believed to be stolen to order, and their parts stripped down for sale, and often exported.

Detective Sergeant Colman Coyne, of Bradford District CID, said: “I would like to thank the member of the public who brought this illegal operation to our attention and would appeal to the general public to look out for premises, particularly industrial units, being used as ‘chop shops’. The kind of things to look out for suspicious activity around motor vehicles, high-value cars that are apparently new, frequent movements in and out, and vehicle parts scattered around the premises.”