Police raided a car boot sale in Essex on Sunday morning and arrested four men on suspicion of handling stolen goods after a GB News exclusive report revealed the brazen trade in stolen tools blighting Britain.
Dozens of officers from the Metropolitan Police descended on Willow Farm car boot sale with officers from Trading Standards, seizing £50,000 worth of stolen goods and arresting four believed to be in involved in the stolen tool trade.
Four men, aged between 40 and 60, from Hackney and Southend-on-Sea were arrested.
A number of suspected stolen bikes, as well as cash, illegal vapes and other counterfeit goods were also seized.
Officers from Trading Standards seized £50,000 worth of stolen goods and arresting four believed to be in involved in the stolen tool trade
GB News
Tradesman Shoaib Awan said he was invited on the raid by officers after his tireless campaigning against tool theft.
In March, GB News exclusively revealed the trade in stolen tools that has been popping up at car boot sales across Britain.
Awan took Robert Jenrick undercover to the Willow Farm boot sale to secure hidden camera footage of hundreds of thousands of pounds of tools for open sale.
"This raid is just the start, they've only gone to one but hopefully this will lead to many more," Awan said.
Relieved his relentless campaigning, which included a day of action in Westminster where tradespeople from across the UK came to parliament to demonstrate against tool theft, was starting to pay off, he said: "For us it restores faith in the system, to know there is justice.
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GB News exclusively revealed the trade in stolen tools that has been popping up at car boot sales across Britain.
GB News
"GB News and Robert Jenrick's presence [at the car boot sale] was powerful. Nothing has ever been done about it before, but since GB News reported this it seems to really have moved everything in the right way."
Tradespeople are facing an onslaught of tool thefts with some being attacked when trying to confront the gangs breaking into their vehicles.
Direct Line estimated the average value of a stolen tool to be £2,200.60 and in 2023 the rate of tool theft was up 5 per cent on the previous year. Half of all tools stolen in the UK are taken from a vehicle.
Social media is awash with CCTV footage of thieves breaking into vans then making off with stolen gear. While London is a hotspot, all regions of the UK are affected.
Dozens of officers from the Metropolitan Police descended on Willow Farm car boot sale
GB News
In reaction to the raid, Jenrick said: "Tool theft is blighting the lives of tradesmen across the country. It is frankly a disgrace that stolen tools are being sold in plain sight at car boot sales.
"I’m pleased that our work with GB News and the evidence we have [shown] to Essex Police has led to a raid on the car boot sale we exposed and to arrests.
"Police forces need to step up, take these crimes seriously and have the back of hardworking tradies who deserve our support."
Inspector Mark Connolly, from the Met’s neighbourhood policing team in east London, said: "We've heard from hard-working Londoners about the financial and personal impact of tool theft and we're working hard across the Met to tackle it.
"As well as working with partners to target prolific offenders in proactive and intelligence-led operations such as this, we're also carrying out tool marking events to make it harder for criminals to sell on stolen goods."
