Over 400 Land Rovers have been stolen in just one year in West Yorkshire.
The figures come after a member of a sophisticated keyless car thief gang was jailed for 28 months. A court heard how members of the gang “staked out” areas in order to identify cars they wished to steal.
Thefts of six Range Rover cars and one Land Rover Discovery happened in the West Yorkshire area before Uwais Akhlaq, 21, was caught.
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West Yorkshire Police have been investigating hundreds of similar thefts across the area involving the high-value vehicles. Prosecutor Nadim Bashir said that between November 2022 and November 2023, 446 Jaguar Land Rovers had been stolen in West Yorkshire.
Speaking of Akhlaq’s offending, the prosecutor said a virtually brand new Range Rover Evoque was stolen from a driveway in Ripponden and the thieves drove away with a pram and cot worth £1,600 still inside.
Another Range Rover was stolen from the Bradford Royal Infirmary car park which had Christmas presents inside.
(Image: West Yorkshire Police)
Sophisticated keyless car thefts are also known as “relay theft” and happens when a device is used to trick the car into thinking its own remote key fob is close by. It allows the car to unlock and the ignition to be started.
West Yorkshire Police has previously published guidance on how to keep a keyless car safe.
These include:
- Keeping keys safe. A spokesman said: “While at home keep your car keys away from the car to disrupt communication range. Avoid leaving them near your door or window.”
- Use a signal-blocking pouch.
- Turn off the fob’s wireless signal
- Re-programme your keys
- On-Board diagnostic (OBD) port. A spokesman said: “Some theft involve thieves breaking into a vehicle and accessing the ODB port to start the car.”
- Steering wheel lock
- Parking. A spokesman said: “If you have a garage, use it to secure your vehicle in, if you park on the driveway, park as close to the property as you can, if you have more than one vehicle on your driveway, park the less desireable vehicle in front of the most desireable vehicle to block its access.”
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