Kent Police have dealt a significant blow to organised vehicle crime, seizing an estimated £350,000 worth of stolen vehicles and plant equipment during a multi-day enforcement operation across the county.
The action, led by Kent Police’s Rural Task Force, targeted thieves looking to move high-value stolen property, including cars and construction machinery. The largest part of the operation focused on the Port of Dover on Thursday 16 and Friday 17 October 2025. Officers, working alongside colleagues from the Port of Dover Police and partners from the National Construction and Agricultural Theft Team, conducted 394 comprehensive vehicle stop checks over the two days.
This concerted effort resulted in the immediate seizure of a stolen engine, an excavator, and a trailer.
Police Sergeant Ross Haybourne said:
‘When a vehicle is stolen it means its rightful owners lose the ability to do simple things like get to work, do the school run or go to the supermarket. Insurance premiums increase and stolen vehicles have to be replaced. But on a broader scale, vehicle crime is often associated with wider organised crime which impacts our communities in a number of different and harmful ways. Intensification weeks are great opportunities to coordinate national efforts among partner agencies to tackle vehicle crime but the public and criminals can be assured that officers in Kent carry out this sort of enforcement throughout the year. Those responsible for vehicle crime should know they are being hunted and they will be brought to justice.’