Stolen vehicles worth £1.2m, including cars from London and Surrey, have been found stuffed inside storage containers ready to be shipped overseas.

Police did not say exactly where in London or Surrey the 44 vehicles, including BMWs, Range Rovers and a Porsche Cayenne, had been stolen from.

However the methods of the  thefts are similar to a car theft gang which was dubbed the Fast and Foolish upon their eventual conviction, who stole from homes in towns including Epsom, Thames Ditton, Morden, Kingston, Worcester Park and Leatherhead.

The cars were never recovered and are likely to have been whisked out of the country in a similar way.

The 'Mr Big' transporting the cars for the teenage gang was never discovered. 

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Fast and foolish: Dozens more cars stolen across Kingston, Epsom, Weybridge, Cobham

A joint operation between the National Crime Agency, ACPO Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service and Border Force, found 44 vehicles after targeting ports around the country, the National Crime Agency said yesterday.

They included BMWs, Range Rovers Evoques, Audis, a Porsche Cayenne, Scania trucks and a Komatsu Excavator.

Surrey Comet:

Surrey Comet:

Eighteen of them had been stolen from London, Surrey, Hertfordshire, Northamptonshire, Germany and the Netherlands. Others were stolen from companies.

The National Crime Agency said the cars were destined for African countries, Cyprus, France, the USA, Malaysia and Burma.

Surrey Comet:

Tom Dowdall, deputy director of the NCA’s Border Policing Command, said: "Exporting and selling stolen vehicles on the black market is a lucrative business for organised crime groups as they also avoid tax or import duties.

"We know some groups even pay for drug shipments with cars."

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