Police discover stolen cars during Great Barr chop shop raid
A yard being used to dismantle stolen cars has been raided by police acting on a tip-off.
Police found a stash of suspected stolen cars at the Great Barr yard - including a Nissan Qashqai which was taken in a recent car-jacking.
A 45-year-old man was arrested at the scene on suspicion of vehicle theft before he was released under investigation.
The raid took place at a yard on Felstone Road, in the Old Oscott area on Tuesday where officers found a workshop, garages and several shipping containers.
Parts from Range Rovers, Volkswagens, Audis, Ford Transits and Nissans were recovered.
Among them was a Qashqai which police believe was taken during a robbery in Castle Bromwich on January 3.
West Midlands Police suspect many of the parts were stolen during robberies and car key burglaries.
Specialist officers have contacted car manufacturers to confirm exactly where the parts have come from.
The yard was raided after a tip-off from a member of the public.
Police also uncovered two vans and a car transporter which had stolen tools inside.
Officers suspected the vehicles, which have been sent off for forensic investigation, were running on cloned plates
Sergeant Mark Short, from the Birmingham Police Taskforce, said: “We suspect the warrant has uncovered a unit that was being used to regularly accept stolen cars to strip them down for parts to sell or to fix cars bought at salvage auctions.
“The site was behind a residential area and we’re grateful to the inquisitive member of the public who contacted the police with their suspicions.
“Chop shops like this provide a market place for stolen vehicles; we need to shut off these outlets to make it more difficult for thieves to profit from stolen vehicles and, therefore, make committing offences a less attractive proposition.
“Information from the community on suspected chop shops is vital in our fight against vehicle theft – and as this warrant shows we take information seriously and will act on it quickly.”
West Midlands Police launched a campaign last year to crackdown on chop shops.
The public were asked to report any garages or units they believed could be taking in and stripping down stolen vehicles.
After the campaign launched, police received a large increase in the number of tip-offs.
Anyone with information about chop shops are asked to contact police.
