Four men have been sentenced to a total of 15 years and nine months in prison following a police operation that uncovered an industrial-scale "chop-shop" in Bristol where stolen Land Rovers were being stripped and modified before being sold on.
Officers from Dyfed-Powys Police worked with colleagues from West Mercia Police and Avon and Somerset Police to bring the investigation to a close after a series of stolen vehicles were traced from Powys and Worcestershire to Bristol. The operation was launched after officers identified a "suspicious trend in high-value Land Rover thefts" in the Powys area.
Operation Canning launched after suspicious trend
When officers in Powys noticed the suspicious trend early last year, Dyfed-Powys Police's Serious and Organised Crime Unit set out to identify the gang behind the disappearing vehicles. Operation Canning was launched in May 2025, and officers swiftly identified a red Volkswagen Golf with a fake number plate which they believed was being used in the plot.
In an attempt to cover their tracks, the gang dumped the Volkswagen Golf in the West Mercia force area and swapped it for a Kia, once again using fake number plates. Despite their efforts to go undetected, officers traced the new vehicle's movements back to an address in south Worcestershire.
Stolen vehicles traced to Bristol drop-off point
Discussions with West Mercia Police established that the gang was also operating in the Worcestershire area, where officers were investigating several identical thefts. Working closely with intelligence units at West Mercia Police, the team continued to join the dots between the offences and discovered that the stolen vehicles were routinely being taken further south to a final drop-off point in Bristol.
On 19 May 2025, West Mercia Police reported that another Land Rover Defender had been stolen from the Worcestershire area. A group of five Dyfed-Powys officers teamed up with colleagues from Avon and Somerset Police and travelled to Bristol, where they planned to catch the thieves red-handed.
Industrial-scale chop-shop discovered
As expected, the latest stolen vehicle arrived in Bristol, where officers caught Leonard Hodgkinson and Ben Hobbs in the act. The stolen Land Rover was recovered, and officers also located an industrial-scale "chop-shop" where the vehicles were being stripped and modified before being sold on.
It was estimated that hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of car parts were being dealt from the unit, which was later described by Land Rover as "one of the biggest chop-shops they'd ever seen." With an overwhelming amount of evidence captured, West Mercia Police took ownership of the investigation. The investigation ultimately resulted in four men being sentenced to a total of 15 years and nine months in prison.
Following this, Chief Inspector Matt Price said: "I'd like to thank West Mercia Police for taking this investigation through the criminal justice process, ultimately bringing these thieves to account."
"A total of five Land Rover Defenders were stolen in Powys during this period, which was not only devastating for the vehicle owners, but also highly concerning for our wider rural communities. We are committed to tackling rural crime and following the evidence wherever it may lead. This investigation shows the true value of close partnership working, and the lengths that police will go to in the pursuit of criminals who think they can target our rural communities for their own gain."
