Police make seven arrests after stolen cars found in suspected garage chop shop

Yahoo

09-02-2025

Seven people have been arrested after a haul of stolen cars were found in a suspected garage chop shop in Oldham. Police responded to reports of suspicious activity in the Newport Street area on Saturday afternoon (February 8).
Upon arrival, officers found a garage with two Ford Fiestas inside along with several registration plates linked to other vehicles. All had been previously been reported as stolen.
Greater Manchester Police said officers believe the garage was being used as a suspected chop shop, which is where stolen vehicles are then often dissembled with parts then sold on for cash.
READ MORE: EasyJet flight to Manchester Airport makes emergency landing after pilot 'collapsed'
READ MORE: 'If I say we're going to war, we're going to war'
Four men, aged 60, 45, 39 and 32 and three women – aged 43, 33 and 27 – were all arrested on suspicion of theft of motor vehicles and remain in custody to be questioned.
Chief Inspector Ian Partington from Oldham's Neighbourhood team said: 'We suspect this garage was being used to illegally disassemble and 'chop up' vehicles for parts, later selling them for profit. We have deployed crime scene investigators in order to gather evidence, which will support our specialist vehicle examiners with their investigations.
'Tackling vehicle crime is one of my team's biggest priorities and today we've achieved a great result. A location that is undoubtedly being used for criminality has been uncovered and two vehicles will hopefully be making their way back to their rightful owners.
'We are committed to robustly targeting thieves responsible for stealing someone's hard-earned property. These criminals are quite simply profiting from people's misery and are a blight on our communities.
'Whilst we are working hard and taking steps in the right direction, we will not become complacent and we ask members of the public to be vigilant and take extra measures to secure their vehicles, particularly owners of Ford Fiesta and Ford Transit vans with increased thefts of these models.
'We recommend owners consider preventative measures to deter these thieves, by installing steering locks or wheel clamps and not leaving anything of value in your vehicles.
'Anyone with any information in relation to a crime, please contact 101 or you can always contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online. If you witness a crime in progress, dial 999.'