Purple Lamborghinis seized in £7,000,000 supercar raid
The luxury cars, worth almost £7 million and many of them uninsured, were targeted in the capital after reports of 'anti-social and dangerous driving' around Hyde Park, Kensington and Chelsea.
Two uninsured purple Lamborghinis were caught in the joint sting operation by the Met Police and the Motor Insurers' Bureau (MIB).
Their owner had flown the customised sports cars into the UK for the summer holiday.
Another supercar owner who was stopped had reportedly been in the country for two hours and had only driven around the capital for 15 minutes before the car was seized.
The supercars, many of them uninsured, were confiscated as part of the operation this weekend after complaints from residents, businesses and tourists in 'hotspot areas in central and west London,' the Special Chief Officer James Deller from the Met Police said.
Many of the high-end cars were insured in the drivers' home countries, but lacked appropriate motor vehicle on UK roads.
In total, 72 cars were towed.
Supercar owners were slapped with several tickets over other offences, including driving without a licence, mobile phone use behind the wheel, no MOT, illegally tinted windows, not wearing a seatbelt, and operating vehicles in a dangerous condition.
Alongside driving offences, police officers spotted people wanted for ABH and criminal damage, drug offences, stolen vehicles, immigration offences and use of fraudulent insurance policies known as 'ghost broking.'
Uninsured drivers can have devastating consequences and cause life-changing injuries and death – across the UK, a person is impacted every 20 minutes by an uninsured or a hit-and-run driver.
The cars were tracked and caught using the insurer's database and Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras.
SCO Deller said: 'The Met is committed to tackling anti-social behaviour. This operation was set up to respond to resident, business and visitors' concerns about high-value vehicles causing a nuisance in known hotspot areas in central and west London.
'Already the Met has reduced neighbourhood crime by 19 per cent compared to the same time last year and we're addressing anti-social behaviour caused by uninsured drivers. This has been a great opportunity to work with the Motor Insurers' Bureau and for officers to speak with members of the public about the work we do, educate drivers and enforce the law.
'We've had some real success – thank you to Special Constable colleagues who volunteer their time to help drive down crime across London.' More Trending
Martin Saunders, the dead of uninsured Driving prevention at MIB, said; 'We urge all motorists to check their insurance policy is in place, is appropriate for their needs and to reach out to their insurer if they are unsure on any part of their policy.
'While many offenders knowingly violated the law, others fell victim to simple mistakes such as bounced payments, failed renewals or incorrect details.
'With growing concern over seasonal hotspots and tourist-linked offences, the Met and MIB plan to continue enforcement and education efforts throughout the year. We don't want any driver to become uninsured in the first place. These rules apply to all motorists, regardless of the value of vehicle they choose to drive.'
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
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