Christchurch police say stolen vehicles found at scrap metal yards could be intended for export.
Six stolen vehicles were found at a southern yard on Wednesday, while officers have also visited other second-hand and scrap metal dealers in the city as part of a clampdown.
Detective Senior Sergeant Corrie Parnell says 15 stolen vehicles have been been found altogether.
Mr Parnell says five of those are largely intact, with the rest engines, panels or other parts from the other 10 vehicles. He says the parts appear to be destined for export markets.
Mr Parnell says it seems to be a large-scale operation and officers will look closely at links between offenders, metal dealers and markets for the vehicles and parts.
No charges have been laid yet.
