Police find drugs, machete and stolen vehicles at Tipton chop shop with one man arrested

In the early hours of Friday, officers forced entry to a unit off Broomfield Road and found several suspected stolen car parts and vehicles including two quad bikes, a motocross bike and a Land Rover Defender.

They have been seized for forensic examination.

A Ford Fiesta was recovered from the site which police have confirmed as being stolen from a supermarket in Oldbury last October.

Officers also seized a quantity of suspected class A drugs and a zombie machete.

A 52-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of handling stolen goods. He remains in custody for questioning.

Sergeant Mike Bradley from Sandwell Proactive Crime Team said: “We received vital intelligence that this unit was suspected of being used as a chop shop. We listened and we have taken action.

“Tackling vehicle crime is one of our priorities in Sandwell as we know it’s one of the issues that matter most to our communities.

“We are working hard to disrupt gangs of car thieves that are stealing people’s well-earned property and profiting from their misery.

“I’d urge anyone who suspects a chop shop is operating near them to inform us so we can cut off these lines of business.”

Chop shops are illegal garages where stolen vehicles are dismantled for parts and are linked to vehicle crime gangs.

Tell-tale signs of a chop shop could include noise coming from units late at night or in the early hours of the morning, vehicles that look out of place going in to workshops and not coming back out, large amounts of car parts being stored, sometimes in odd places such as gardens, shipping containers in unusual locations, expensive items such as engines and gearboxes outside workshops, high value vehicles in and around workshops/units where they just don’t fit in. 

To report any suspicious activity in your area call 101.