POLICE found a stolen car stuffed inside a shipping container just 17 hours after it had been snatched by thieves.

The £100,000 Range Rover Sport was discovered inside a container at a depot in Stanford-le-Hope.

It was crammed inside with two other Range Rover Sports which were also thought to have been stolen.

Police were able to find the vehicles after one of them was reported stolen from Waltham Cross in Hertfordshire.

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Vehicle tracking technology helped officers trace the vehicle to container it was crammed into in Stanford le Hope.

Tracker Network Ltd, which helped trace the stolen vehicle, says they were able to find the stolen Range Rovers because it was fitted with enhanced technology.

Head of Police Liason Clive Wain said: “The fact that the Range Rover was hidden in a metal haulage container demonstrates the effectiveness of our VHF technology capability.

“If the tracking unit just had GPS capability, then the tracking device would not have been able to continue to provide a signal from within the container, therefore stopping any external tracking communication.

“Thankfully that wasn’t the case here, our unique technology and formal collaboration with the police meant the car was recovered swiftly.

"In recent years, Tracker along with the police have intercepted and recovered thousands of vehicles at UK ports destined to be shipped to foreign shores.”

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Tracker’s technology is the only one supported nationwide by UK police forces.

Mr Wain says car thieves have been targeting Range Rovers on a regular basis in the past year, with many being quickly shipped out of the country.

He added: “High-end Land Rover and Range Rover cars account for 44% of all stolen vehicles recovered in 2021, clearly demonstrating these prestige vehicles are being targeted by criminal gangs.

“The impact of Covid, car parts shortage and availability of new and used cars has only exacerbated the issue in recent months.

"It is therefore not surprising to see that these cars were found at a shipping container depot, as there is a clear demand for these models in territories like Eastern Europe, Middle East and Asia.”