A HAUL of stolen luxury vehicles worth more than £1m have been seized as part of a major crackdown on organised gangs.

Officers raided containers and trailer traffic at Southampton docks and other ports, recovering £1.2m worth of high-value vehicles that were set for export.

Of the 44 vehicles recovered, 13 were found in Southampton, including three Mercedes E220ss which were heading to Cyprus and three Land Rover Defenders on their way to America – totalling hundreds of thousands of pounds.

Three of the cars included a BMW X5, worth up to £60,000, an Audi S, which could be worth as much as £69,000, and a Range Rover, which is worth more than £51,000.

They had been stolen from members of the public in London, Kent and Stockport, while others were taken from companies and had outstanding finance of them.

A Honda CRV stolen from London was on its way to the Caribbean port of St Vincent, while a BMW 730d stolen from Birmingham had been set to head to Mauritius.

The raids last month were carried out by the National Crime Agency (NCA), ACPO Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service (AVCIS) and the Border Force.

While the cars were seized there have be arrests and investigations to find the those behind the crime ring are continuing.

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 drugs shipments with cars.

“This type of crime not only affects car owners but also manufacturers, insurance companies and vehicle-related businesses such as rental companies and garages.

“Aside from reuniting members of the public and companies with their vehicles, this operation has enabled us to pursue crime groups who wrongly believe they can safely use container and trailer traffic to conceal stolen vehicles.”

In addition to the vehicles, officers also discovered a container of parts from at least 29 stolen BMWs.

Detective Chief Inspector Gordon Roberts, AVCIS head of unit, added: “We will continue with this work as it is a proven successful tactic in the fight against crime.”

Last year 90,000 vehicles were stolen in the UK and many of these will have been exported.

Crime gangs normally steal vehicles to order with 4x4s being very popular in some countries.

It is relatively cheap to send a container of “personal goods”, and cover loads used to conceal vehicles include furniture or electrical equipment.