Tools worth £80k seized by police at car boot sale
Over £80,000 worth of suspected stolen power tools have been seized by police at a car boot sale in west London.
The Metropolitan Police said it recovered about 400 tools from Hounslow Heath Car Boot Sale as part of a "proactive and intelligence-led operation". The items included power drills, nail guns, electric saws and a concrete mixer.
Two men aged 55 and 54 and two 15-year-old boys were arrested on suspicion of handling stolen goods and bailed pending further inquiries.
Supt James Rawlinson, from the Hounslow local neighbourhood policing team, said the force recognised the "significant impact" theft had on the livelihoods of tradespeople.
'Asked to leave'
He added that police were "targeting the prolific offenders and organised criminal groups" behind tool theft and boosting prevention through regular tool-marking events across London to make stolen goods harder to sell.
The four suspects were arrested at the car boot sale on Hounslow Heath on 11 December.
The Met Police said officers were working to identify the rightful owners of the seized tools.
On its website, the organisers of the event warn that any sellers found offering stolen or counterfeit goods will be "asked to leave and refused future entry".
It says the vehicle registrations of anyone suspected selling stolen power tools are shared with police.
The shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick visited the car boot sale last month and posted a video on social media highlighting concerns about the sale of suspected stolen tools.
Earlier this year more than £500,000 worth of stolen tools were seized by police during operations at two large-scale car boot sales and associated premises in Romford and Rainham, the Met said.
The force says that the theft of tools and other items from vehicles is down by 20% between April and the start of December, compared with the same period last year.
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