Sources close to the investigation told British newspaper The Telegraph that the stolen headlights are being sold to drug dealers who use them to help their cannabis plants grow faster. The thieves primarily target Range Rovers and select Land Rover LR4s because their lights can be removed in as little as a minute without needing to open the hood.
“It is rife. But it is such an easy crime – it is so fast. They put a crowbar in between the front fender and the headlight. They wrecked the fender. There was no noise. They know how to disable the alarm on the cars,” explained Michael Roper, a pub owner whose Range Rover was recently vandalized.
The vandals caused about £8,000 (approximately $13,400) worth of damage to Roper’s Range Rover.
A special task force within the West Yorkshire police department recently arrested 14 individuals that it believes are connected to the thefts and recovered several stolen parts. One man was charged with theft, but the other 13 were released on bail.
The stolen lights recovered by the police will likely get scrapped because the mounting brackets were undoubtedly broken when the headlights were forcefully removed.
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