British Police say all engines stolen from Jaguar Land Rover’s (JLR) Solihull plant in the UK Midlands region have been recovered, with four men bailed to appear pending further enquiries.
JLR has been resolutely tight-lipped concerning the value of the machinery, but UK reports indicate they could be worth in the region of GBP3m (US$3.7m) following their removal from the Damson site near Birmingham at some point late at night between 31 January and 1 February.
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The UK automaker had also offered a reward for the engines’ return, but calls to the manufacturer went unreturned as to whether or not this financial inventive had triggered the rapid Police recovery.
“I can give the date they are bailed to – it is 22 March,” a West Midlands spokeswoman told just-auto. “That is when they have to appear – they are on Police bail – they have not been charged.
“They are on Police bail while enquiries continue.”
The stolen engines were found after dawn raids in Sutton Coldfield and Warwickshire yesterday (13 February), following their theft on 31 January, which saw an articulated truck enter the Land Rover site in Solihull. The lorry entered the site twice, each time hooking up to trailers where the engines were stored.
Since the theft detectives have arrested four men aged 29, 40, 47 and 56 on suspicion of conspiracy to steal. The engines have been seized and will be forensically examined by specialist officers.
Officers are now appealing to anyone who witnessed the theft or saw anything suspicious at the Minworth or Nuneaton sites in the last few weeks to come forward.
“This has been a fast-paced inquiry and after searching two locations today we have seized what we believe are the stolen engines,” said Solihull Investigation Team Detective Inspector, Darren Lee.
“This is a significant find and we continue to investigate the theft.”
Police now have the option of either rebailing the four men, releasing without charge if insufficient evidence is present or charging them.
