Police raid suspected chop shop in Wolverhampton in vehicle crime crackdown
A West Midlands Police taskforce has warned "there's a lot more to come" as a crackdown on vehicle crime intensifies with a raid on a suspected chop shop in Wolverhampton.
In the most recent in a series of raids, a joint effort by a coalition of police units on Thursday morning resulted in the discovery of a suspected chop shop in the city.
Over 20 officers from various units took part in the raid – where the entry team utilised high-powered saws to access the building off Sunbeam Street.
Units from more than seven different policing groups helped to plan the raid, with Operational Support Units (OSU) and members of the newly formed Vehicle Crime Taskforce (VCT) leading the charge to seize the building.
Police Sergeant Paul Mallon, a supervisor with the Western-based Vehicle Crime Taskforce (VCT), said: "This has been a really successful raid, we have had the correct officers here at the time and getting into the property was very quick.
"Now it's just a case of checking what's inside and seeing what's been stolen, there is absolutely a huge value on the items that are inside the unit, now it's just a case of correctly identifying if they have been stolen or not."
The dramatic raids come as the UK experiences a rise in the level of vehicle theft, resulting in the loss of hundreds and possibly thousands of pounds for the victims.
Sgt Mallon continued: "I think this is more of a national issue, this isn't just confined to Wolverhampton, there is a lot of money in the criminal world through these operations that we need to get into, and that's what my team is set up to do.
"We were set up in January to cover the Sandwell, Dudley, Walsall and Wolverhampton area and just in the past few days we have been successful at a chop shop in Dudley where we found five or maybe six vehicles, which included two Fiestas as well as other German brand vehicles."
The latest raid follows other success with vehicle theft initiatives, with the VCT already closing three suspected chop shops and making a number of arrests relating to conspiracy to steal from motor vehicles.
Sgt Mallon said: "My team has been set up to solely focus on vehicle crime and where it is going. We start at where the vehicles have been stolen from, what has been done and where they are being deposited.
"We have been tasked with hitting this vehicle theft issue hard and hitting it as quickly as we can to really make a dent in this area. This is something that we are taking very seriously and if anything we are only going to crack down harder in the coming weeks and months."
West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner Simon Foster said: "I'm pleased to see West Midlands Police taking a tough stance on car crime. It is a top priority in my Police and Crime Plan.
"West Midlands Police know I am deeply concerned with the rise in car thefts and, as such, I receive regular updates from the force. This scrutiny will continue."
