Porsche and Mercedes found at £400,000 'chop shop'

High-value cars including a Porsche and a Mercedes were among stolen vehicles worth more than £400,000 discovered by police at a "chop shop".

Essex Police found the chop shop - a garage where stolen vehicles are dismantled or given false identities - after the Met Police shared details of a stolen car that was being tracked on December 9.

Officers discovered the car, a Mercedes GLC, in an enclosed yard in the Uttlesford area, near Stansted Airport.

Further searches at an adjoining unit uncovered 17 other vehicles which were linked to thefts across London, Hampshire, Surrey and Kent.

Two men from Romford, east London, were arrested on suspicion of theft of vehicles and handling stolen goods.

The force said the men, aged 35 and 38, have been released on bail until March 1 while police continue their inquiries.

Det Ch Insp Rob Huddleston said the force targeted "chop shops" on a "weekly basis" in Essex.

He said: "This type of premises, known as a chop shop, has without doubt, links to wider organised crime groups who use similar premises to move stolen vehicle parts across the county and further afield for their own gain.

"Theft of motor vehicles is a force priority, and we will continue to do all we can to tackle those involved in organised vehicle theft, to protect our communities from the devastating effects such a theft can have on their daily lives."

Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.