A Mercedes stolen from a Midlands airport was recovered in Poland after police in Birmingham teamed-up with eastern European colleagues to track the car as it sped across the Continent.
A car hire firm operating out of East Midlands Airport contacted the Central Motorway Police Group (CMPG) after hearing how West Midlands Police was hosting overseas officers as part of Operation Trivium – a nationwide crackdown on foreign criminals.
Using contacts cemented through the October 20-24 operation – which saw more than 1,000 crime suspects arrested – officers alerted Europol and the car’s movements were quickly picked up thanks to an on-board tracking device.
The 14-plate C200 – stolen after being booked using false details and documents – was monitored driving at speed across Europe.
And when it became clear Poland was the driver’s likely destination, local officers in Lodz were deployed to intercept the car as it drove around the city.
West Midlands Police Superintendent Paul Keasey, who led Op Trivium, said: “This was a brilliant example of cross-border policing in action and the collaboration with European colleagues we’ve developed during Trivium continuing to pay dividends.
“The £30,000 car has since been returned to the car hire firm…its representatives were both surprised and delighted that we were able to recover it so swiftly.
“We would not have been able to react so decisively had it not been for the contacts we’ve established under Operation Trivium.”
The Mercedes was stolen on October 21 after being delivered to a man later found to be using false documents – and was stopped by Polish officers in Lodz on 28 October.
The 32-year-old male driver – plus a male and female passenger – was spoken to by Polish officers before being released pending further enquiries by Leicestershire Police.
Supt Keasey, added: “Once the full details are forwarded from Poland we hope to have valuable intelligence into criminal gangs operating this kind of fraud.”