What a Discovery! Land Rover stolen in Britain is found 5,000 miles away

A premium Land Rover Discovery Sport stolen from a British owner has been impounded by police in deepest Siberia.

The black crossover was tracked down via Interpol, and the Russian authorities say it will be returned to its rightful owner.

The Land Rover was identified in Irkutsk, when a new ‘owner’ sought to register the vehicle, which in Britain costs between £43,445 to £57,920.

Traffic police suspected it had been illegally imported into Russia.

‘Being vigilant, the police officers initiated an inspection of the vehicle,’ said the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs in the Irkutsk region, which is more than 5,000 miles from London.

The black crossover was tracked down via Interpol , and the Russian authorities say it will be returned to its rightful owner

‘Employees of the regional Interpol unit confirmed that the car had been stolen from a British resident.

‘The law enforcement authorities of the United Kingdom had initiated a criminal case on this fact, and the car itself was declared wanted through Interpol channels.’

The identification numbers of the car body and engine matched those of the stolen car, indicating it was exported by a gang involved in illegally trading vehicles.

‘Interpol cooperation with the UK law enforcement agencies is currently being established,’ said the police.

‘The car has been placed under arrest with a view to its subsequent return to the legal owner.’

The Russians did not give details of the original number plate nor of the UK owner.

Irkutsk is five time zones east of Russian capital Moscow.

The Land Rover was identified as stolen when a new ‘owner’ sought to register the vehicle, which in Britain costs between £43,445 to £57,920

It was found in the city of Irkutsk (File image) 

The car was chained to a nearby tree with a hevay duty chain and padlocks similar to a bike chained up

The Landrover was spotted parked on a quiet residential road in London outside a house

Range Rovers are notoriously easy to steal, so much so that owners in London are now resorting to chaining their motors up in an attempt to prevents thefts. 

Worried drivers have started chaining their motors to trees to avoid thieves pinching them after crooks started using the car’s keyless entry to steal the vehicles in seconds.

A post on social media shows a Land Rover parked up on a quiet, leafy residential street with a bike chain looped around a nearby tree and attached to the back of the expensive car. 

The heavy-duty chain is rapped around the car and tree at least twice and secured with a large padlock in an attempt to deter thieves.

The high-end brand has been battling a reputation crisis after owners complained that their cars were becoming too expensive to insure after a spate of thefts across the country.