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Daily Mirror
25-06-2025
- Daily Mirror
UK farm at heart of car smuggling ring linked to London crime epidemic
Baldwins Farm, in Essex, has been associated with organised crime where stolen cars have ended up with arrests taking place where criminals have ended up in prison for drug and firearm charges. An Essex farm has found itself at the heart of a car smuggling ring that is linked to London's crime epidemic. Baldwin Farm sits on the green belt inside the M25 where it is surrounded by a crumbling industrial estate that is filled with old cars that have been stripped apart for scrap. The site has since attracted fresh attention after it was found to be at the heart of an international car smuggling ring. The farm has been associated with gang activity since the 1980s with drug smuggling and gun selling taking place at the site. A recent documentary showed how an Audi A4, stolen from a North London driveway on March 15 ended up at the farm and was tracked by a car leasing company. The tracker switched off but activated again about 30 miles away near Baldwins Farm. It later emerged the tracker could have been interfered with due to possible GPS jamming equipment. It later emerged in Kaunas, Lithuania, and ended up in a business in the outskirts of the city called Baltic Car Trade. Channel 4 Dispatches filmed police raiding the property but they ended up finding little more than some wires as the car had been torn apart. Scrapped parts of cars stolen from Britain's streets typically end up in the Middle East and Africa. Dispatches identified Martin Clark as the company director of the firm that owns the lease on part of Baldwins Farm. He was jailed for six years in 2007 for his role in a £4 million car theft ring. Stolen cars have been found on Baldwins Farm with Essex Police having carried out a raid in 2020 where three Range Rovers and a Land Rover Discovery were recovered. Several of the cars were being broken apart for scrap. Though, there are also legitimate businesses that now operate at the site, including a cement business run by the Bromley Family, although the site's association with organised crime has stretched back decades. David Bromley and their son Simon were jailed for thee years and eight years, respectively, in 2006 over supplying cocaine with the latter also being convicted of firearms supply offences. But Simon Bromley's 29-year-old son, Jake, said whatever happened in the past has nothing to do with how Baldwin's farm operates today. Speaking to MailOnline, he said: "My grandad has died and my nan is very ill at the moment. "That stolen Audi has nothing to do with us and we have nothing to do with the land where the Lithuanians are." When referring to Martin Clark, who Dispatches previously reported as having the lease on the land where the stolen Audi was tracked, he added: "We rent land to Martin. "He has a contract until 2026 and then we will review that. We do not like how he has run it down there." Jake added he and his sister Lily Tiger were attempting to make a legitimate living and feared any negative publicity could drive away clients in the future. "I'm a legitimate man who's worked hard his whole life. I worked fitting windows for over ten years and my sister is a make-up artist and runs her business here. "My sister and I are both young. What happened years ago was not great, but as time has gone on we both have strong heads on us." A family friend has insisted the younger generation would have been unaware of any illegality that had been going on. Britain's Car Theft Gangs Exposed: Dispatches is available to watch on 4oD.
The Sun
24-06-2025
- Automotive
- The Sun
UK farm said to be at centre of car thefts – graveyard of ‘100s of stolen motors dumped & stored before sold overseas'
AN Essex farm has found itself at the centre of an alleged car theft epidemic after being linked to an international car smuggling ring. Baldwins Farm in South Essex has recently been exposed in a Channel 4 documentary for allegedly being a hotbed of organised crime. 8 8 8 However, according to the MailOnline, this is far from the first time that the farm has been accused of illegal activity. Channel 4's recent Dispatches instalment featured Baldwins Farm, and began with an Audi A4 that was stolen from a driveway in North London on March 15th. Unbeknown to the thieves, the car leasing company had previously fitted the vehicle with a hidden tracker. The tracker showed the Audi's journey from London to a patch of woodland in Baldwins farm, which is tucked away in an area of green belt just inside the M25. Possible GPS jamming or blocking equipment was thought to have prevented the tracker from working at the farm, however, five weeks later, it reappeared in Kaunas, Lithuania. Dispatches then tracked it to a business in the outskirts of the city called Baltic Car Trade. The documentary showed police as they raided the property, but all that was left was a bunch of wires - the car has been torn apart, like many others that are stolen off of British streets. Organised gangs of criminals steal thousands of cars each year to then ship abroad as parts destined for scrap yards in the Middle East and Africa. The Dispatches investigation also revealed that at least two other stolen cars with trackers had ended up at Baldwins farm, in a part of the farm nicknamed 'Lithuanian end.' However, this allegedly isn't the first time the site has come under fire. Luxury automaker to convert once-beloved sports bar left abandoned for years into an 'exclusive' motorcycle dealership In 2020, Essex Police conducted a raid that recovered three Range Rovers and a Land Rover discovery. Some of the vehicles were already in the process of being broken down for parts. Dispatches identified Martin Clark as the director of the company that owns the lease to the part of Baldwins that the car was found on. Clark was jailed in 2007 for six years for his part in a £4million car theft ring. After being tracked down to a large house in Essex with several parked luxury cars on the drive, Clark told journalist, Matt Shea, to 'F*** off.' 8 8 8 Former police officer, Neil Thomas, told the MailOnline that he wouldn't be surprised if Baldwins Farm had been used to store stolen vehicles. Thomas, who now works for a private track and recovery service for stolen cars, said: 'The access in and out is quite restricted, it's quite close to London, quite close to the docks, so if you are exporting vehicles it's a really good location.' According to the MailOnline, who visited the farm last week, there is only one road in and out in the form of a dusty track, and the whole site is brimming with CCTV cameras. Drone images of the farm show rows of parked vehicles and shipping containers, as well as piles of scrap metal. There are plenty of legitimate businesses renting units at the farm, including window companies, car repairers and a cement business run by the Bromley family. However, the MailOnline claims that the site has also long attracted criminal clientele. Like many semi-rural parts of Essex, the area saw an influx of criminals from the East End during the 1970s and 1980s. Gangsters found it useful due to it being relatively isolated while still being close to London. The current Channel 4 investigation focuses on allegations of stolen cars tied to an international smuggling ring. The family who now run the site, insist that any criminality is a thing of the past. Jake Bromley, 29, told the MailOnline: 'That stolen Audi has nothing to do with us and we have nothing to do with the land where the Lithuanians are.' In reference to Martin Clark, who Dispatches reported as holding the lease to the land that the vehicle was tracked to, he said that he simply rents the land to the businessman and will review the contract when it ends in 2026. Jake explained that himself and his sister, Lily Tiger, 25, are keen to make an honest living and are fearful of this negative publicity. The pair were made directors of the new company Baldwins Farm Limited in February this year. 8 8
