Stolen watches, vintage whiskey, an £80,000 Land Rover and a £40,000 VW have been recovered in Rochdale as part of an operation to curb vehicle crime.

Throughout September, officers made 31 arrests and conducted 28 stop and searches in efforts to crackdown on vehicle crime across the region.

Alongside the arrests, Greater Manchester Police have located and seized more than half a million pounds worth of suspected stolen cars.

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This includes two burglaries in Rochdale where a successful warrant recovered an £80,000 Land Rover and a £40,000 VW Tiguan which were both seized and suspected to have been stolen along with £5,000 in cash.

Watches, vintage whiskey and equipment used for keyless car entry were also seized from the property.

Greater Manchester Police said this "severely disrupts" organised criminal networks as by removing the tools of their trade, they are unable to operate.

A stolen BMW in a 'chop shop'A stolen BMW in a 'chop shop' (Image: GMP)

The news comes as earlier this month (October 18), officers executed a warrant on Bromley Street, Manchester, in relation to a 'chop shop'.

Three men, aged 27, 32 and 59, were arrested on suspicion of handling stolen goods.

Meanwhile, seven men were jailed for a total of 25 years for the involvement in one of the most organised criminal networks GMP has ever seen as 100 vehicles were stolen at an estimated value of £3 million.

Superintendent Danny O’Neil, force lead for vehicle crime, said: “We are continuing to put the brakes on vehicle crime.

"Criminals are definitely feeling the impact of our work and by taking action and arresting suspects, we are tackling the issue at its root. 

“We want to highlight the work that happens on a daily basis to tackle vehicle offences, a lot of the work is conducted behind the scenes but please be reassured that vehicle crime in Greater Manchester is reducing.

"Over the last twelve months, we have recorded a 19 per cent reduction in vehicle offences, 4,471 fewer offences than last year. 

“This is work that may not be visible to the public, but we have dedicated neighbourhood crime teams working across all of our districts in Greater Manchester.

"They are dedicated to investigating vehicle crime and reducing instances of it in your area.

“As a force, we have a number of specialist teams who also support our fight against vehicle crime across the force, such as our Tactical Vehicle Intercept Unit.

"Officers in this unit assist us daily in ensuring suspected stolen cars are recovered, this team act on intelligence to make arrests and disrupt criminals.

"Our Serious Organised Crime Group also assist with large scale investigations, often linking serious incidents and targeting the most prolific offenders who operate force wide, helping us to secure robust convictions. 

“Our neighbourhood teams will continue this momentum through conducting a mix of covert and high visibility patrols in hotspot areas and patrol plans are in place to successfully recover stolen vehicles and stop offenders in their tracks.

“We are placed where you need us most in your community to prevent, tackle and solve crime and there are steps that drivers can take to protect their vehicles and make it harder for opportunistic thieves to operate."

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