Three men suspected of trying to steal vehicles from a car dealership in the West Midlands have been caught by police after a dramatic rooftop arrest.
A 24-year-old, an 18-year-old and a 17-year-old were snared as they attempted to break into a property behind the Beechwood Audi dealership on Thursday morning (11 September). Officers who arrived on the scene after calls from witnesses found lock picking equipment and a coding device designed to programme blank vehicle keys before they trapped the criminals on a neighbouring garage roof and made the arrest.
The Black Country dealership may have avoided the theft of its vehicles thanks to a quick response by police, but the story illustrates the need for these businesses to have high quality combined motor trade insurance policy in place. Dealerships are always going to attract unwanted attention from criminals due to the high value of their stock, so ensuring that vehicles stored on site are protected in case they are stolen is of utmost importance.
According to the Birmingham Mail, as well as the three arrested men there was a fourth suspect, dressed in dark clothing, who managed to escape a police dog by scaling razor wire-topped fencing − but it is understood he may have suffered a bite injury.
Dudley Police Chief Inspector Nick Rowe said: “We contained the scene within eight minutes of the initial 999 call coming in to us. Our search teams have since recovered items of interest from addresses linked to these men and a car believed to have been used by them has been seized and will be forensically examined.”
