Thieves Steal $3.7 Million In Engines In Crazy Heist At Jaguar Land Rover Factory: Report
Thieves reportedly made off with a haul of engines worth $3.7 million from Jaguar Land Rover's production facility in Solihull, England. They allegedly cruised right by by security cameras in two trips, using a stolen big rig. The thieves are apparently still at large and the parts unaccounted for.
We have reached out to Jaguar Land Rover for comment, and they maintained the same official statement the company gave to the Birmingham Mail:
We can confirm that we are working closely with West Midlands Police to investigate the theft of engines from the Solihull manufacturing plant. A reward is on offer to anyone who has information which leads to the successful recovery of these engines. It would be inappropriate for us to make any further comment whilst this investigation is ongoing.
The story being reported by local publications in England is that the alleged thieves rolled into the Solihull factory with a big rig cab at 10:30 p.m. Tuesday night, peacefully made it through a security gate, hooked the truck up to a trailer loaded with engines and simply exited the facility.
It sounds like the alleged thieves were met with no resistance, and in fact apparently returned shortly after to repeat the crime.
The Solihull Police have released a statement saying "an articulated truck is believed to have entered the site twice, each time hooking up to trailers carrying the engines and then leaving again through the gate," but did not speculate on whether or not they're dealing with an inside-job situation.
As Coventry Telegraph quotes an anonymous witness who said that the truck was filled to the brim with motors:
How they got the lorry in and out so quickly is quite some story. We heard the lorry came in at 10.30pm on Tuesday through gates at D1 then drove to the Lagoons depot. We were told a trailer was attached and was full of new engines. That lorry was in and out of the plant in six minutes.
Later that night the same lorry came back and did it all over again. It attached another wagon and then it drove out past the security guards and that wagon was not seen again all night. But we have heard that the driver had the yellow documents he needed so he could show the security guards on the way out, without having to be searched.
Which engines were stolen specifically, or how much exactly Jaguar Land Rover is offering as a reward for their recovery remains unclear but the Solihull factory produces the Range Rover, Range Rover Sport, Discovery and Jaguar F-Pace.
The Solihull Police say they have found and seized the stolen trailers, but not the engines that were inside. Obviously, anyone with information that could lead to a resolution is encouraged to contact the Solihull Police.
More as we get it.