Police across Tayside and Fife have seized about 700 cars and bikes this year – including a luxury £80,000 BMW.
Data obtained by The Courier shows the full list of cars impounded by officers across the two regions between January and October this year.
Included in the figures are several BMWs worth tens of thousands of pounds if purchased new.
The data includes cars seized under section 165 of the Road Traffic
Act 1988, which gives police officers the power to seize a vehicle being driven without insurance or a driving licence.
It also lists vehicles otherwise recovered, for example abandoned vehicles or vehicles involved in crime.
A total of 699 vehicles were seized by police in the first 10 months of 2022, down from 745 the previous year.
In Tayside division – which includes Dundee, Angus and Perth and Kinross – 472 cars were impounded.
This included five BMW X5s, which sell for between £63,000 and £80,000 new, depending on the model.
Another unlucky motorist in Tayside had their Range Rover Sport taken into police custody.
The luxury SUV sells for more than £78,000 new.
A total of 185 vehicles were unrecovered in Tayside, meaning the owner did not collect the vehicle.
Meanwhile in Fife, officers confiscated 228 vehicles.
Three Jaguars were seized, including a Jaguar XF Luxury, which sells on the garage forecourt for more than £45,000.
Drivers failed to claim 110 vehicles in the kingdom.
Why are vehicles not claimed?
Some choose not to collect their vehicle to avoid the charges, which start at £150 for removal and then £20 each day it is held in storage.
If the vehicle goes unclaimed, it can be sold on at auction or scrapped by Police Scotland.
In 2022, Tayside and Fife divisions made a total of £13,825 and £13,147 respectively from selling vehicles in this way.
A force spokesperson said: “Any seized or recovered vehicle, which is not claimed by the registered keeper, will be sold at auction.
“Any remaining amount, once the required fees are paid, is used to support public funding towards Police Scotland.”
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