Britain's busiest port has 'just one police officer' tackling stolen vehicles smuggled out of UK by crime gangs
The number of stolen cars being shipped from the UK has soared after it was revealed that a single police officer was tasked with screening shipping containers used by criminal smuggling rings at Britain’s busiest port.
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Adam Gibson, the only police officer at the Felixstowe port, said there was “no way in hell” he could search even a small portion of the containers being loaded.
The situation is said to be making it easier for criminals to export cars to the Middle East and Africa, and consequently fuelling the number of car thefts in Britain. Popular destinations for the stolen vehicles include the Democratic Republic of Congo and the United Arab Emirates.
In 2024, just under 130,000 cars were reported stolen. They are often loaded with other metal goods to confuse metal detectors when being smuggled abroad.
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Although some are shipped abroad whole, others are stolen and immediately stripped for parts which are then shipped out of the country.
Industry estimates suggest fewer than five in every 100,000 containers leaving Britain are ever searched due to the limited officers available. Every container that is opened and searched costs the police £200 in host-up fees to the ports, meaning that almost all examinations end up being evidence-led, rather than random screenings.
Tim Morris of the Associated British Ports described the situation as “a needle in a haystack”.
“At any point there can be thousands of containers on the dockside,” said Mr Morris. “The information we have on what is in them is scarce and the ability to target is very hard. We are only told if the contents are dangerous, for example fireworks.”
Reported in The Times, there are only three dedicated officers in the entire south of the UK.
Earlier this year, invesgiators opened a shipping container at the port that was hiding three stolen pickup trucks. The vehciles, worth around £40,000 each, were destined for Africa and had been stacked on top of eachother in the container.
Experts told Channel 4's Dispatches that Hyundai, Kia, Toyota and Lexus cars were increasingly being stolen as well as higher-value Range Rovers.
