Kent police seize £120,000 haul of stolen vehicles at Dover after finding stripped Lexus hidden inside a van

Kent Police's Rural Task Force spent three days in late September seizing stolen property worth £120,000, including a £40,000 Lexus that had been fully stripped and hidden inside a Mercedes Sprinter van at the Port of Dover. The operation targeted agricultural plant and machinery theft, with officers inspecting hundreds of vehicles at Dover and conducting patrols through rural areas of Ashford, Canterbury and Maidstone. The recovered haul comprised two cars, two vans, two caravans and a horsebox, each thought to have been stolen. No arrests were made, but drivers' details were recorded to assist ongoing criminal investigations.

A £10,000 Hyundai Ioniq, also dismantled, was discovered hidden in the same van alongside the Lexus.

A £16,000 horsebox and the truck carrying it were seized in Maidstone; the truck was impounded separately after officers found it was untaxed.

Sergeant Ross Haybourne said thieves were deliberately breaking down stolen vehicles and loading them into HGVs to move them out of the UK without detection.