THANKS to the vigilance of a patrolling police officer, a man was arrested in Chadwell St Mary in connection with eight stolen vehicles.   

The officer was suspicious about a vehicle he saw parked in Chadwell on Ingleby Road on Monday 20 November, and after an alert was raised an officer from the Essex Police Stolen Vehicle Investigation Unit was deployed.

Once there, the specialist officer located a black Lexus NX300 and a black Range Rover Sport: both vehicles were displaying false registration plates. 

Enquiries carried out at the time established their true identities and revealed that both had been stolen in the preceding days, one from London and one in Essex. 

Officers continued their enquiries, resulting in another four cars being taken away for examination from St Francis Way, Grays: all eight – including Range Rovers, Kias, a Porsche, a Mercedes and a Lexus - had also been reported as stolen.

Calling for assistance from colleagues in West Local and Community Policing Teams, a man was arrested on suspicion of theft of multiple vehicles nearby, handling stolen goods/vehicles and conspiracy to commit theft of motor vehicles.

During a search of a house, officers from across the district worked together, locating and seizing multiple vehicle keys, vehicle documents, assorted number plates and a five-figure amount of cash.

The 35-year-old man has been released on bail until 8 February 2024 while police continue their enquiries.

Detective Inspector Brian Palombella, co-ordinating the investigation, said: "This was a fantastic piece of work from teams across the force, working together to identify and recover a significant number of high-value stolen cars from across Essex, including two from London.

"A suspicion by a colleague proved right and led to a 20-hour operation to forensically remove the vehicles so we can obtain the evidence we need to continue our investigation.

"This find has resulted in significant disruption to organised criminal gangs associated with vehicle crime in Essex."

The Stolen Vehicle Investigation Unit is dedicated to identifying offenders and the recovery of stolen vehicles, using intelligence gained to disrupt criminal activities.