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Tracker Aids Police in Recovery Of Two Mercedes


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UXBRIDGE, UNITED KINGDOM – July 20, 2009: TRACKER, the UK leader in stolen vehicle tracking, played a vital role in helping the police recover two stolen Mercedes. Both vehicles, stolen from one address, were recovered from containers on two different ships that were destined for Hamburg. One had already started its voyage and the other was still docked at Portsmouth harbour. The story is due to be featured on BBC’s ‘Cars, Cops and Criminals’ in 2010, TRACKER helped the police recover both cars, thanks to its market-leading tracking security technology.

The story started with a customer who had hired a Mercedes from Licensed Carriage Hire (LCH), based in Elstree, Hertfordshire, as his own vehicle was going into the garage for repairs. LCH delivered the car to him on a Saturday, but that night both his own and the LCH vehicle were stolen from his drive after thieves broke into his house and stole the keys for both vehicles.

The thieves must have thought they had scored a double success. Yet TRACKER’s own data shows that vehicle theft using a driver’s own keys is extremely common, as 74% of all vehicles recovered in 2008 were stolen using driver’s keys.

The customer phoned LCH on Sunday to report the theft and Richard Horne from LCH alerted TRACKER. Fortunately, the LCH vehicle was fitted with a TRACKER unit and the Mercedes was found in a container on a ship preparing to leave to Hamburg.

As the police suspected there may be other stolen vehicles on a ship that had already left the docks, they called ahead to their colleagues in Hamburg and the containers were held and returned to the UK. Once the containers were opened, police found in one of them the LCH customer’s Mercedes.

“TRACKER’s close working relationship with the police secured the recovery of not just my company’s own vehicle but my customer’s too,” explains Richard Horne of Licensed Carriage Hire. “Without the TRACKER device in my vehicle, both cars would have been lost for good. This is a fantastic result and confirms that a tracking device really does provide that extra level of security.”

Stuart Chapman, Police Relationship Manager for TRACKER, adds, “We are the only stolen vehicle recovery provider working with all 52 police forces in the UK and once again this relationship was essential in finding not one, but two stolen vehicles. This case highlights the value of the way TRACKER works side-by-side with the police, combined with the power of its unique stolen vehicle recovery devices.”

TRACKER stolen vehicle recovery systems work like an electronic homing device. A covert transmitter is hidden in one of several dozen places around the vehicle. There is no visible aerial, so the thief won’t even know it’s there. Unlike other tracking systems, the device works even if the vehicle is hidden in a garage or taken abroad, offering car owners the ultimate in peace of mind should the worst happen.