More than 70 supercars worth £7million have been seized by police officers across London, including a pair of purple Lamborghinis, alongside Ferraris and Porsches.
In a weekend-long operation, led by the Met Police and supported by the Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB), up to 72 vehicles with a collective value of almost £7million were taken across the capital.
New images have shown an array of flash sports cars confiscated across Hyde Park, Kensington and Chelsea, with the MIB working alongside officers to impound the extravagant vehicles.
The crackdown by Scotland Yard comes amid reports of anti-social and dangerous driving, alongside drivers being a ‘nuisance’ across hotspot areas of London.
One of the drivers of the two purple Lamborghinis had been in the country for just two hours and driving for 15 minutes when the luxury car was seized, the MIB said.
Up to 75 Met police officers worked to seize the uninsured vehicles, using specialist methods such as ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition), predictive movement tracking and vehicle markers.
Several other types of criminal activity were also detected throughout the operation, including individuals wanted for actual bodily harm (ABH) and criminal damage, drug offences, immigration offences, stolen vehicles and even fraudulent insurance policies.
Meanwhile, some drivers were also found to have been on the roads without a valid licence, using a mobile phone while driving, not wearing a seatbelt and having illegally tinted windows.
Special Chief Officer James Deller from the Met Police, who was in attendance at the operation, said that the operation represented the force’s commitment to tackling anti-social behaviour.
He added: ‘This operation was set up to respond to resident, business and visitors’ concerns about high-value vehicles causing a nuisance in known hotspot areas in central and west London.’
SCO Deller said that the crackdown had been a ‘real success’ in helping to educate drivers and enforce the law, adding that the force were working to address anti-social behaviour caused by uninsured drivers.
Meanwhile, Martin Saunders, Head of Uninsured Driving Prevention at MIB, urged motorists to ‘check their insurance policy is in place, is appropriate for their needs and to reach out to their insurer if they are unsure on any part of their policy.’
He added: ‘While many offenders knowingly violated the law, others fell victim to simple mistakes such as bounced payments, failed renewals or incorrect details.’
Mr Saunders also confirmed that both the Met and MIB ‘plan to continue enforcement and education efforts throughout the year’.
A previous clampdown by the Met Police in August last year saw a haul of supercars worth £6million seized as boy racers were accused of using London as ‘their own personal racetrack’.
Extravagant vehicles including McClarens, Bentleys, Rolls-Royces, Ferraris and Lamborghinis were among the 60-strong collection confiscated by Scotland Yard.
It came after concerns had been raised about the streets of central London becoming more like ‘racetracks’ – prompting officers to swoop into action.
Metropolitan Police Special Inspector Geoff Tatman said: ‘The Met is working to put communities first – listening to and tackling their concerns.
‘This hugely successful operation has proved we are dealing with those crimes, such as anti-social driving, that is causing most distress to residents and tourists.’
He insisted officers were ‘doubling down on crime on the roads’ as he praised the ‘hard work and dedication’ of Scotland Yard’s volunteer special constables.
Mr Titman described them as playing ‘a vital role in our mission to make London safer’ as they ‘kindly give up their free time to help serve the community’.
Council chiefs suggested similar further moves could lie ahead.
Cabinet member for city management Paul Dimoldenberg said: ‘People who think it is okay to use our roads as their own private racetrack late at night are not welcome in Westminster.
‘The noise and dangerous driving from these boy racers is often worse during the summer, so I welcome these results from the enforcement work’.
Last September, a driver pleaded with police to ‘let him off’ as it was his wedding day after they found he had no insurance on a £200,000 Lamborghini.
The soon-to-be groom was picked up by road traffic officers following four reports that the lime-green sports car had been speeding.
They ran checks on the convertible vehicle – after stopping it in Bury, Greater Manchester – which showed it did not have any damage protection.
The man then tried to use his upcoming nuptials to plead with officers to spare him punishment.
But Greater Manchester Police joked that as they had ‘no confetti on hand’, they ignored his request and ‘threw six penalty points’ at him instead.
The officers also seized the vehicle.
Meanwhile, just month it was revealed that more than 30 locations across London have been identified as the worst for anti-social behaviour, theft and street crime.
Some 20 town centre and high street areas now account for 10 per cent of knife crime, 24 per cent of theft person offences and 6 per cent of anti-social behaviour calls.
These have been identified as ‘Tier 1’ regions – including town centres in Barking, Brixton , Ealing, Croydon, Woolwich, Ilford, Kingston, Romford and Shoreditch.
Other hotspots include Elephant and Castle, Finsbury Park, Seven Sisters, Shepherd’s Bush Green, Silver Street, Stratford, Walthamstow, Whitechapel, Camden Town and Catford. The West End, which has been particularly badly hit, is also on the list.
A further 12 areas were listed as ‘Tier 2’ areas, including town centres of Bromley, Uxbridge and Richmond along with high streets in Sutton, Hounslow and Tooting.