Cars stolen and smuggled abroad within 24 hours

Cars and parts are being stolen and smuggled out of the UK sometimes within 24 hours to countries in Europe and Africa, police are warning.

Sgt Ross Haybourne, from the Kent Police Rural Task Force, says criminals are often stealing to order across the South and South East of England.

"Sometimes stolen parts do go into Europe and then there's intelligence they're being posted back into England for innocent purchases," he said.

The Home Office says it is introducing new laws to ban electronic devices used to steal keyless vehicles.

Mr Haybourne says his team regularly carries out operations at the Port of Dover, to search for stolen cars, caravans, quad bikes, farm vehicles, diggers and other agricultural machinery.

"We've had reports with trackers etc, where vehicles are going hundreds or thousands of miles away from the UK, often within 24 hours of a theft," he told the BBC who were given rare access to operations at the Kent port.

"We stopped a car that was stolen the day before, which was on route to Cyprus and had been ordered.

"We've had vehicles tracked as close as France and as far away as North Africa," he said.

Mr Haybourne says whole cars are being smuggled out of the country, as well as parts including engines, steering wheels and wing mirrors from vehicles which have been broken down in so-called chop shops.

The National Construction and Agricultural Theft Unit (NCATT), which targets organised crime gangs involved in the theft of agricultural and construction machinery, says some machines are stolen to be used to rip out cash machines in the UK, with others being sent to Eastern Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

Rural crime officers carrying out checks on vehicles leaving the Port of Dover

More than 121,000 vehicle thefts were recorded in England and Wales in 2024/25.

Lee, who lives in West Sussex, discovered his van had been stolen from outside his partner's home.

"I just felt sick. I had so much stuff in there. All my tools are in there - it had all been taken away from me. It didn't seem real."

With £10,000 worth of tools stolen, he had to give up his work designing and installing fitted furniture and kitchens, losing an estimated further £30,000 in potential earnings.

More than 100 vehicles had been stolen by the same gang that also targeted vehicles across Hampshire, Dorset and Wiltshire. Many were vehicles with keyless ignition.

On Friday the final members of the gang were sentenced for their part in the crimes.

Police said the cars had been mostly stolen from driveways overnight and taken to a chop shop in Surrey, run by another organised crime gang, to be stripped down for parts.

Det Con Paul Beasley, from Hampshire Police, said: "This other group would then strip them down into those vehicles' various parts, put them on to the back of a lorry and ship them over to Europe, where they were being sold on in the second-hand market."

The BBC has discovered gadgets being used by criminals to steal keyless cars without breaking in are being sold online for more than £20,000.

Under new laws proposed in the Crime and Policing Bill, which is making its way through Parliament, it will be illegal to possess or share electronic devices used to steal cars and could lead to up to five years in prison.

Previously, police could only prosecute if they proved the equipment had been used to commit a specific crime.

Richard Billyeald, from Thatcham Research, which works with the car industry to improve security, told the BBC: "You're really only using these if you're stealing cars, there's no legitimate use in any other way at all."

Tips on how to prevent keyless car thefts

• Keep keys in a "Faraday pouch" - a protective sleeve that blocks the signal a fob sends to a car

• Many cars have settings that can be changed to stop using keyless entry

• Do not take keys upstairs when you go to bed to prevent criminals confronting you in a bid to steal them

The National Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service (NaVCIS), which is funded by the private sector, works with police forces and at ports.

It said 450 stolen vehicles and 118 stolen parts, worth a combined retail value of over £13.8 million, were seized by their officers at UK ports in 2024/25.

A Home Office spokesperson said: "Vehicle theft can have a devastating impact on individuals, families, businesses, and the wider industry. For too long, not enough has been done to prevent these crimes or to bring those responsible to justice.

"This government is working to change that by introducing new laws banning electronic devices used to steal vehicles, giving the police and courts stronger powers to target criminals who use, manufacture, or supply them."