LAND Rovers, Jaguars and BMWs have been stolen from the Pocklington and York area, stripped down and the parts sold and shipped overseas.

Humberside Police said they were taken by a million-pound organised crime group operating the biggest car theft conspiracy the force had ever seen.

It said the final member of the gang had been convicted at court after officers had successfully dismantled their 'criminal chop shop entities.'

"The gang were operating various chop shops across North Lincolnshire, with large quantities of brand new and high end vehicles such as Land Rovers, Jaguars and BMWs, all of which had been stolen, stripped down and the parts sold and shipped overseas," said a spokesperson.

“When car part dealers operate legitimately, they either keep, or sell the parts. However in this case, due to the vast volume of vehicles the gang were stealing at such a fast pace, they couldn’t dismantle the cars as quick as what they were stealing them, and often parts were just being thrown away.

“However with expert assistance and collaboration with manufacturers, we were able to identify 72 vehicles, stolen from 17 different forces across the country as far north as York and south as Surrey.

“Nineteen of the vehicles had been stolen from our force area mainly from the Pocklington area and linked to two in one burglaries, all of the vehicles were broken down so we were unable to return them to their rightful owners."

Nine men from Scunthorpe, Grimsby and Hull were found guilty of offences including conspiracy to handle stolen goods and converting criminal property, and will be sentenced later.