A luxury Range Rover Sport, stolen from a quiet street in Harrogate nearly three years ago, has unexpectedly surfaced in Pakistan thousands of miles from where it vanished. Interpol is now calling on Pakistani police to help recover the vehicle.
The black SUV, bearing the original UK registration MK70 OKW, was taken from North Yorkshire in November 2022.
Range Rover stolen in UK found in Pakistan
Nearly three years later, the vehicle’s onboard tracker pinged a location in the Saddar district of Karachi, revealing its long journey across continents.
“We received a letter from Interpol … requesting assistance in recovering a vehicle stolen from the UK,” Amjad Ahmed Shaikh, Karachi Police Anti-Car Lifting Cell
Interpol’s Manchester office issued the alert to their Pakistani counterparts late last month after the Range Rover’s telematics system reported its location in Karachi.
Authorities in Pakistan are now trying to pinpoint the vehicle’s updated whereabouts to take action.
“Since the location they provided for this vehicle, stolen in 2022, was from February, we have emailed them to request the current location. Once we receive the updated location, action will be initiated and the vehicle will be recovered,” Shaikh added.
At present, the identity of the vehicle’s original owner remains unknown, but the Range Rover is still listed on the global Interpol stolen vehicle database.
A Familiar Pattern in Car Theft Cases
This case has raised eyebrows, but it’s far from the first. In fact, it’s part of a growing trend of luxury UK cars ending up in foreign markets through illegal smuggling routes.
A Range Rover Sport stolen in North Yorkshire in 2022 has been found in Karachi, Pakistan. Interpol and local police are working together to recover it.
The revelation has sparked renewed concern about how easily stolen vehicles can be trafficked across borders and disappear into another country’s second-hand market.
This is Not the First missing UK Car to be found in Pakistan
In 2022, a similar recovery involved a £200,000 Bentley Mulsanne, stolen from London and traced to a high-end residential area of Karachi.
Tipped off by British intelligence, Pakistani police raided the premises and found the Bentley parked discreetly under a cloth.
Though re-registered with Pakistani number plates some reportedly handmade the car’s chassis number told the real story.
Ports, Paperwork and Police Cooperation
Vehicle trafficking often involves bypassing border inspections, falsifying documentation, and taking advantage of weak vehicle import regulations. Once inside a country, these vehicles are resold or used under fake identities.
Interpol’s National Central Bureau in Pakistan confirmed it had received a request from the UK to assist in tracing and recovering the stolen vehicle.
“Pakistan’s National Central Bureau of Interpol said UK authorities have asked the local police for assistance in tracing and locating the vehicle stolen from the northern English town.”
A full recovery effort is expected to be launched once the SUV’s real-time location is confirmed.
In Summary:
- A Range Rover Sport, stolen in Harrogate in 2022, has been tracked to Karachi.
- Interpol is working with Pakistani police to retrieve the vehicle.
- This echoes a similar case involving a Bentley stolen from London.
- Experts warn of a rising global trend in cross-border luxury vehicle trafficking.
Note: Black Range Rover in Feature image is not the stole car.
