AN URGENT warning has been issued to thousands of Brit drivers who risk their cars being stolen in bright daylight. Motorists have been urged to be even more cautious after cops across the UK found more than 50 illegal body shops that strip down stolen cars. Stolen cars usually end up at these chop shops before they are completely dissembled.
These parts are then sold separately on the black market. Cops have found a 72 per cent rise in the number of these illegal workshops as compared to 2023, GB news reports. They have so far managed to arrest some 80 people with ties to such sites.
However, police say they still struggle to locate them because of the "industrial-sized jammers" used by these thieves who seem to have become technologically advanced. It is understood that thieves are stealing cars to strip them down and sell individual parts in black to meet the growing demand for separate parts in the automotive market. This is because the legitimate aftermarket has been "struggling to supply parts" for vehicles of all sizes and stature.
Clive Wain, head of police liaison at Tracker said: "[last year] we recovered vehicles ranging from a £150,000 Range Rover Autobiography, all the way down to a £1,000 Audi A3. “Had we not intercepted these vehicles, their parts would have been sold very lucratively on the black market." Clives' company also revealed that Essex is the top "hot spot" for chops shops because it is situated near the Tilbury docks.
Experts have now urged Brit.