Kent Police officers have seized around £120,000 worth of suspected stolen vehicles and property during a targeted operation aimed at disrupting rural theft and the movement of stolen machinery.
The operation was carried out across three days in late September and involved officers from the force’s Rural Task Force, with support from the National Construction and Agriculture Theft Team.
Police said rural theft traditionally increases during autumn and winter, when darker evenings can make farms and isolated locations more vulnerable to criminals targeting valuable vehicles and equipment.
Across the operation, officers seized two cars, two vans, two caravans and a horsebox believed to have been stolen.
They also recovered two cars which had been stripped for parts, including a Lexus worth around £40,000 and a Hyundai Ioniq valued at about £10,000.
Vehicles stopped at Port of Dover
The first phase of the operation took place at the Port of Dover on September 23 and 24.
Officers carried out spot checks on hundreds of vehicles looking for suspected stolen goods being transported in HGVs and other large vehicles.
One Mercedes Sprinter van was found to contain the stripped Lexus and Hyundai.
Police also seized a Nissan Navara worth around £20,000 and two caravans with a combined value of approximately £10,000.
Sergeant Ross Haybourne said stolen vehicles and machinery were often transported in larger vehicles in an attempt to move them across the country or overseas without attracting attention.
Further seizures in rural Kent
The second phase of the operation took place on September 29, when officers patrolled rural areas of Ashford, Canterbury and Maidstone.
They recovered a Mercedes car worth around £15,000 and a horsebox valued at £16,000.
The truck transporting the horsebox was also seized because police said it was untaxed.
No arrests were made during the operation, but officers recorded the details of all drivers involved and said criminal investigations remain ongoing.
Sergeant Haybourne said: “Operations like this demonstrate the proactive approach we take to identifying stolen property and preventing it from being exported outside of the UK.”
Sergeant Mark Yarrow, from Port of Dover Police, said joint working with Kent Police and specialist theft teams was vital in tackling cross-border rural crime involving high-value vehicles and machinery.
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