The NPCC said that the operation also led to many arrests for the possession of drugs and weapons, violence and attempts to dodge court by leaving the UK. However, 18 related to chop shops – illegal enterprises in which cars are stolen (usually to order) and then stripped for parts which are either shipped overseas or sold in the UK on the black market. In total, the police found more than 300 stolen parts that, in total, are worth in excess of £100,000.
Stolen cars fitted with cloned plates
Other seized equipment included cloned plates, which are effectively copies of another car’s registration often fitted to stolen vehicles in order to avoid detection from traffic cameras when engaging in illicit activities. This practice appears to be getting more common, with a freedom of information request by the RAC revealing that in 2025, a total of 11,402 drivers contacted the DVLA after receiving fines that they did not recognise. This constituted a nine per cent year-on-year increase and was almost double the total recorded in 2018.
“The continued rise in the number of cloned vehicles is alarming and confirms that cloning has become the menace of modern-day motoring, as it leaves innocent drivers having to fight to prove they weren’t driving their own vehicle at the time and place camera evidence shows,” said the RAC’s head of policy, Simon Williams.
“If number plate suppliers were carrying out all the checks they’re supposed to, it would be much harder for dodgy drivers to buy cloned plates in the first place,” Williams continued.
A recent investigation by the BBC shone a light on this issue, with reporters able to purchase dodgy plates for £40 in just eight minutes at a market. In response, the DVLA said it was “cleaning up the register, strengthening compliance and enforcement” and working with the authorities to “tackle suppliers who break the rules”.
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