Ferrari and Rolls Royce among Essex stolen car haul

A red Ferrari was among the high-value haul found by the stolen vehicle intelligence unit in one week

A stolen Rolls Royce, Bentley, Ferrari and other high-end cars, reaching a total of £1m, have been found during a "successful week" for a police unit.

Range Rovers, BMWs and the remains of vehicles were also seized in Essex in the past week, police said.

Stolen cars found in 2023 totalled "an incredible £12m" so far, they added.

"We aim to make this a hostile county for car thieves," said PC Paul Gerrish, of the Essex Police stolen vehicle intelligence unit.

Officers will examine the vehicles and use the intelligence gathered to hunt down other missing cars.

The team also recovered a Rolls Royce

Essex Police said in recent months the team had located and recovered a range of Ferraris and Aston Martins, and a Rolls Royce Cullinan worth more than £360,000.

Fifteen "chop shops", where stolen cars are stripped of their parts, have also been dismantled this year.

The team has so far intercepted almost 50 shipping containers full of stolen vehicles and parts, which were destined to leave the country.

In 2022, the unit recovered 626 stolen vehicles or parts - a 30% increase on 2021, police added.

In May, three men in their 20s were arrested on suspicion of handling stolen goods after vehicles worth £640,000 were found at an industrial estate in Canvey.

They were bailed until August.