What a discovery! A Land Rover stolen in Britain is found 5,000 miles away
A premium Land Rover Discovery Sport stolen from a British owner has been seized by police in deep Siberia.
The black crossover was tracked down through Interpol and Russian authorities say it will be returned to its rightful owner.
The Land Rover was identified in Irkutsk when a new ‘owner’ wanted to register the vehicle, which costs between £43,445 and £57,920 in Britain.
The traffic police suspected that it had been illegally imported into Russia.
“Being vigilant, the police officers started an inspection of the vehicle,” the Russian Interior Ministry said in the Irkutsk region, more than 5,000 miles (8,000 kilometers) from London.
A premium Land Rover Discovery Sport stolen from a British owner has been seized by Russian police in deep Siberia
The black crossover was traced through Interpol and will be returned to its rightful owner, according to Russian authorities
Interpol Regional Unit officials confirmed that the car had been stolen from a British resident.
‘The UK law enforcement authorities had initiated a criminal case in this regard and the car itself was sought through Interpol channels.’
The body and engine identification numbers matched those of the stolen car, indicating that it was exported by a gang involved in the illegal vehicle trade.
“Cooperation between Interpol and UK law enforcement agencies is currently being established,” police said.
‘The car has been detained with a view to later returning it to its legal owner.’
The Russians gave no details about the original license plate, nor about the British owner.
Irkutsk is located five time zones east of the Russian capital Moscow.
The Land Rover was identified as stolen when a new ‘owner’ sought to register the vehicle, which costs between £43,445 and £57,920 in Britain.
It was found in the city of Irkutsk (File image)
The car was chained to a nearby tree with a heavy chain and padlocks that resembled a chained bicycle
The Landrover was parked on a quiet street in London, outside a house
Range Rovers are notoriously easy to steal, so much so that owners in London are now resorting to linking their engines together in a bid to prevent theft.
Concerned motorists have started chaining their motorbikes to trees to prevent thieves from throttling them after thugs started using the car’s keyless entry to steal the vehicles in seconds.
A social media post shows a Land Rover parked on a quiet, leafy residential street with a bicycle chain wrapped around a nearby tree and attached to the back of the expensive car.
The heavy chain is wrapped around the car and tree at least twice and secured with a large padlock in an attempt to deter thieves.
The luxury brand is facing a reputation crisis after owners complained their cars were becoming too expensive to insure following a spate of thefts across the country.