Rushcliffe neighbourhood police officers arrested three suspects and discovered a ‘chop shop’ full of vehicles after a stolen car was tracked to an industrial unit.
Officers were alerted to the presence of a stolen Ford Ranger that was being tracked in the Orston area.
After information was passed on by force control room colleagues, officers were led to a large unit full of cars and motorbikes in various states of being stripped down.
Among them was the Ford Ranger, which had been stolen from the Lincolnshire area and had its front end stripped down.
Three men, aged 28, 29 and 31, were arrested on suspicion of theft of a motor vehicle and handling stolen property while further enquiries were carried out at the site.
The 28-year-old was also arrested on suspicion of money laundering after he was searched and found to be in possession of a large quantity of cash.
Following a search of the premises and the attendance of vehicle examiners, an additional engine was located at the site and identified as belonging to a second Ford Ranger stolen from Lincolnshire.
The three suspects have since been released on conditional bail following their arrests on Thursday 9 July.
Sergeant Brett Price, of the Rushcliffe South neighbourhood policing team, said: “Thanks to some excellent police work, we have been able to recover multiple stolen vehicles and disrupt what appears to be a very significant criminal operation.
“As demonstrated in this case, we work closely with other forces across the country to trace stolen vehicles, disrupt operations of this kind and arrest perpetrators.
“I’m pleased we were able to recover these vehicles and arrest multiple suspects.
“We take rural crime seriously in Rushcliffe, and we will continue to do everything we can to stop offenders in their tracks, bring criminals to justice and protect our rural communities.”
