Six charged following suspected 'chop shop' raid in Birmingham

Police have charged six men after discovering a suspected "chop shop" in Birmingham.

West Midlands Police say they executed a warrant following investigations around a unit in Moseley Road, Sparkbrook, on Thursday, November 3, which we suspected was being used to break up stolen cars for parts.

It led to the discovery of three allegedly stolen cars and the parts to two other vehicles.

Police say these were established to have allegedly been stolen from the West Midlands, Staffordshire and Bedfordshire.

Officers arrested six men - aged between 25 and 41 - on suspicion of handling stolen goods.

The men, all from the West Midlands, have since been charged with this and bailed to appear before Birmingham Magistrates' Court on November 24.

A statement on the West Midlands Police website reads: "We recently launched a dedicated vehicle crime task force in response to rising levels of car theft across the region.

"The unit is able to act on emerging intelligence on crime patterns and suspects, step up patrols in hotspot areas and carry out targeted operations.

"It came into force in September and since then the number of crime theft reports is beginning to drop.

"We've made over 40 arrests, and improved our stolen vehicle recovery rate which is double to what it was this time last year."