Tracker and UK police uncover 37 chop shops

Joint operations between vehicle recovery expert Tracker Network and UK police have discovered 37 ‘chop shops’ where stolen vehicles are stripped and parts sold on.

The number continues a recent surge in the practice. Just two illegal chop shops were uncovered in 2020 but that figure had risen to 55 last year.

This increase comes as the price of new replacement parts continues to grow dramatically. New data has found that brake discs and pads have risen by 37% on SUVs, 22% for hatchbacks and 20% for saloons, while pollen filters on SUVs are up by 48%, 41% for hatchbacks and 35% for saloons.

Meanwhile, windscreen wiper blades have risen 25% for SUVs, 22% for saloons and 19% for hatchbacks.

The locations were found using Tracker’s combination of VHF with GPS/GSM technology covertly fitted to stolen vehicles. Hundreds of other stolen vehicles were also recovered as part of the investigation.

Chop shops

Clive Wain, Head of Police Liaison at Tracker, said: “These criminals are stealing vehicles to order to strip them for parts which they can then sell-on for eye-watering sums on the black market. It’s not only the domestic market where parts achieve big ticket prices. Thieves will often ship stolen parts overseas too, to places like Africa and the Middle East where they can be sold even more lucratively.

“Determined career criminals are a hard nut to crack and whilst we work hand-in-hand with police daily to find and shut down illegal chop shops, the lucrative nature of the ‘business’ means they spring up again. And thieves are getting wise. Chop shops have typically been tucked away in industrial parks or in plain sight as legitimate bodyshops, but we have seen an increasing number of unusual sites being used to hide stolen vehicles and parts, such as agricultural greenhouses.”