£100,000 BMW M4 is found at Balsall Heath chop shop

Police have discovered a chop shop and closed another illegal car breaker business in Birmingham.

On Tuesday (24 January) officers found a chop shop in Balsall Heath and discovered a stolen BMW M4, worth over £100,000, which had been stripped down to just the chassis.

They also found a Mitsubishi Outlander, which was intact and had only been stolen a few hours before.

The owner of the site, a 61-year-old man, was arrested and released on bail as investigations continue.

And a warrant was executed at a car breakers in Sparkhill yesterday (25 January) after police received information they were storing and breaking apart cars illegally. Although no stolen cars were found, the site was not suitable to be used as a breaker, police say there was no registered business there and officers are now putting in referrals to the council for a closure order.

What did West Midlands Police say about the incidents?

Detective Superintendent Jim Munro, who heads up the Taskforce, said: “For Neighbourhood Policing Week, we want to arrest 50 of our top vehicle crime offenders that we know are wanted for vehicle crime, but also to provide 50 separate victims with positive outcomes. “However this action isn’t just limited to one week, with the help of the public we’ll continue to tackle car crime and shut down chop shops.

“Intelligence we receive can be crucial, so please tell us about suspicious activity or if you know people involved in these crimes, so we can step in and take action. “Being the victim of vehicle crime is incredibly frustrating and distressing. Having the family car stolen can cause huge inconvenience and affect taking children to school or other activities, and we know it can cost livelihoods too if a work vehicle is stolen. “We’ll continue to target those who cause misery in our communities and will haul suspects before the courts.”