Five people have been charged after a string of suspected stolen vehicles were found at a Nottinghamshire farm and within containers which were stopped at British ports while allegedly due to be shipped to the United Arab Emirates.
Nottinghamshire Police officers found a silver Land Rover Defender and a black Land Rover Sport HSE – reported stolen from addresses in the West Midlands – when they raided a shipping container at a farm in Ollerton Road, Carburton, north Nottinghamshire, on October 15, 2023.
Outbuildings at the farm were subsequently searched and a further five vehicles – also reported stolen – were found. They included two BMWs, two Mercedes and a red Jaguar F-Pace V6. Checks found the cars had been reported stolen from London, Warwickshire, Birmingham, Derbyshire and Newcastle.
The warrant was executed as part of a wider police investigation into the seizure of five shipping containers – each containing suspected stolen vehicles – that were intercepted at ports in London, Felixstowe and Southampton, also in October 2023.
Thirteen vehicles – reported as stolen – were recovered across the five containers, including two Lexuses, two Toyotas, a Jaguar, three BMWs, an Audi, Mercedes and three Land Rovers. They were allegedly destined to be shipped to United Arab Emirates.
The overall value of the 20 vehicles seized from the ports and the Nottinghamshire farm is approximately £600k.
Five people have since been charged in connection with the investigation. The following people have been charged with conspiring to receive stolen goods:
They are Janine Fowles-Smith, aged 69, of Ollerton Road, Carburton, Worksop; Michael Fowles-Smith, aged 64, of Ollerton Road, Carburton, Worksop; Mohsen Ahmadi, aged 40, of Cherwell Road, Bedford; Ahmed Mohammed, aged 46, of Nelson Place, Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent; and Mustafa Noorahmad, aged 43, of Hetley, Orton Goldhay, Peterborough.
All five are due to appear at Mansfield Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, January 14. Detective Inspector James Oakton, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “This has been a complex and lengthy investigation spanning many months and we are pleased to have now charged five individuals.”