Tracker helps police catch hungry thief red handed at McDonalds drive-thru

Tracker, the stolen vehicle recovery (SVR) expert has worked with the Metropolitan Police Service to track down and recover a BMW X5 that was stolen from an owner’s home in Norfolk. The tracking technology led police to an unlikely location; a McDonalds drive-thru in Hayes, Middlesex, approximately 133 miles away from where it was stolen and where the thief was in fact in line waiting to pick up his fast food order.

As the car thief waited for his burger and chips in the stolen BMW X5, Tracker’s award-winning SVR technology led police straight to the scene where they were able to recover the vehicle and make an arrest; the stolen vehicle had already been fitted with false plates. Unlike the food order the thief was waiting for, the BMW X5 was boxed up and returned to its rightful owner!

Commenting on the unusual recovery, Clive Wain, Head of Police Liaison at Tracker, comments; “Whilst this case has quite an amusing end, the owners of the BMW X5 were not laughing when they first realised their car had been stolen. Our own data revealed the BMW X5 as the most stolen and recovered car of 2018, so thieves are often on the lookout for this make and model and any opportunity they can to steal them.

“In this case the thief thought he could enjoy his meal in peace, not realising the vehicle had a tracking device fitted. It was only a matter of time before he and the vehicle were found. This case truly highlights the significance of having a tracking device fitted to a vehicle to ensure that in the event of a theft, it is quickly located and returned to the rightful owner, and criminals are stopped in their tracks – or in this case, their nearest drive-thru.”