Met operation uncovers UK’s biggest ever stash of stolen tools

A construction firm reported that high‑value equipment had been stolen from a site in Tilbury, Essex.

Using a tracking device fitted to the equipment, Met officers were able to trace the stolen goods to a property in Ilford on Wednesday, 14 January,

Local officers gained entry and discovered the equipment, as well as a vast quantity of stolen tools and machinery, with an estimated value of around £2 million. Two suspects were arrested at the scene, with a third suspect identified and arrested at another address with more stolen tools and equipment were discovered.

The suspects are thought to be part of an organised criminal group involved in reselling stolen items online and shipping them across the UK and Europe.

Inspector Mark Connolly, from the Met’s local policing team in east London, said:

"Too many tradespeople are being put out of work and out of pocket by organised tool thieves. Operations like this show that the Met is taking action to protect tradespeople and their livelihoods.

"This is one of the largest recoveries of stolen tools we’ve ever made, and it sends a clear message that we will identify offenders and bring them to justice. Our teams are working with partners across construction, retail and logistics to disrupt the organised networks that profit from these offences, and to return stolen tools to their rightful owners.

"Our message to tradespeople is to mark your items with synthetic DNA to make it easier to forensically link items and register the serial number with the manufacturer and the UK National Property Register."

The recovered tools — amounting to 10 lorry loads — have now been transferred to a secure police premises, where officers are working to identify the items and trace their rightful owners. Some of the equipment is believed to be linked to thefts dating back as far as 2019.

The Met is continuing to target tool thieves through intelligence‑led operations, as part of its ongoing commitment to reducing crime across London and supporting communities affected by volume crime.

Read more about how the Met is prioritising community crime-fighting as part of A New Met for London: Phase 2 here.

You can also sign-up to receive updates directly from local officers using Met Engage. Hear about local incidents, events and crime prevention advice.

To share information with the investigation team or to contact officers, email EAMailbox.OpLarkwood@met.police.uk.

NOTE TO MEDIA: Video and photo content is available to download here: https://mps.box.com/s/khboftnf2fkxnn86oj3puvb2g1b9ha7j.

A previous version of this press release mentioned that some of the equipment recovered was being used in the HS2 rail project. It has since emerged that this wasn't the case.