A Dundee parcel delivery company has had expensive parts stolen from its fleet of new vans.
Eight Mercedes Sprinters have been stripped of their exhaust systems, including catalytic converters, at Interlink Express in Nobel Road, Wester Gourdie Industrial Estate.
The raiders entered the locked compound on Monday night and broke into the eight vans, which the firm bought six weeks ago at a cost of £28,000 each.
They then broke the front passenger windows to reach the drivers’ compartments of the vehicles and released the bonnet catches to give them access to the engines.
This allowed them to disconnect the exhaust systems containing catalytic converters. They are then thought to have crawled under the vehicles to remove the remaining pipework.
The catalytic converters, which contain precious metals, are worth more than £2,000 each and business owner Charlie Allan said that, with the exhausts added on, the total value of the stolen components is about £30,000.
”This created a major problem for the business,” said Mr Allan (59). ”We opened up on Tuesday ready for a full day of deliveries, only to find our eight new Mercedes vans had been attacked.
”Whoever did this seemed to know exactly what they were doing because they were so particular about how they broke in and removed the exhaust systems.
”We got the new vans just a few weeks ago and I wonder if the thieves were watching us. You hear about crimes like this down south but as far as I know stealing particular vehicle parts, maybe to order, is not that common here as far as I’m aware. It’s never happened to me before.”
Mr Allan said he was able to borrow vehicles from another company to deliver parcels on Tuesday but his staff had to work into the evening to fulfil orders.
Obtaining replacement parts for the Mercedes vans at short notice was not straightforward, he added.
”I’ve got three sets now and they are being fitted to get three of the vans back on the road but I’m waiting for the other five. At this stage I don’t know when I’ll get them.”
Police think the exhaust systems could have been stolen as replacement parts for other Mercedes Sprinter vans or for the high-value precious metals contained in the catalytic converters.
Simon Wood of Mercedes Benz UK in Milton Keynes said the incident bore the hallmarks of an organised crime raid.
Anyone with information should contact police on 0300 111 2222, or any police officer.