More than £8 million worth of vehicles, including a Ferrari Monza SP2 worth £3.7 million, were seized by the Metropolitan Police over the weekend in the largest and most valuable haul in the five-year history of its crackdown on antisocial driving in central London.
Officers, supported by the Motor Insurers’ Bureau, seized a total of 90 vehicles between Friday 7 and Sunday 9 August across Hyde Park, Kensington and Chelsea, targeting uninsured drivers alongside antisocial and dangerous driving. The operation coincides with what’s become known as London’s summer “supercar season,” when wealthy visitors — many from Gulf states — fly high-value cars into the UK for a few months, often parking them outside five-star hotels in Knightsbridge and Chelsea.
The standout seizure was the Ferrari Monza SP2, one of only 499 ever made and worth an estimated £3.7 million, with an identical model having sold at auction for $4.995 million earlier this year. The car had been in the UK for barely a day when it was stopped. Its driver, who had been behind the wheel for less than half an hour, held only a provisional driving licence and had no insurance.
The operation also made use of relatively new policing powers allowing officers to seize vehicles involved in antisocial behaviour without first issuing a warning. Fifteen of the 90 vehicles were confiscated under this legislation alone.
Beyond the headline seizures, the stop-and-check operation turned up a wider spread of criminal activity. Officers arrested one man found with 19 bank cards in other people’s names and more than £2,500 in cash on suspicion of handling stolen goods and money laundering, and another found with £5,500 in cash on suspicion of possession with intent to supply Class A, B and C drugs. Further arrests were made for harassment-related offences and a suspected immigration offence.
Special Chief Inspector Geoff Tatman, who led the operation, said the message to drivers was straightforward: “We regularly hear from local people who are fed up with people driving cars dangerously in the area, or with modifications which make them a nuisance to those who live nearby. Through operations like this we’re arresting these drivers and seizing their cars so we can keep our roads safe and send clear message that we won’t put up with their reckless and dangerous behaviour.”
A spokesperson for the Motor Insurers’ Bureau reinforced the point that no vehicle, however exclusive, is exempt from the basics: the rules on insurance and licensing apply regardless of what’s parked in the driveway.
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