Thieves “harvested” at least 70 Volkswagen front badge and radar sensors in a four-day crime spree in southeast London.
The Metropolitan Police is investigating and urged people to come forward if they are yet to make a report.
Residents captured the thieves on video doorbell and CCTV footage stealing the sensors — kept behind the VW emblem on the bonnet — in a matter of seconds.
Victims reported seeing and hearing drones in the area in the days before the thefts, leading them to believe the thieves were scoping out their vehicles.
Giorgina Tomlin, from Nunhead in the borough of Southwark, had her badge stolen in the early hours of July 18. So did four others on her road.
After posting about it on local forums, searching the streets for missing badges and gathering testimony, Tomlin found the area had been targeted “on an extraordinary scale”. Cars were targeted on 29 roads in Catford, Forest Hill, Ladywell, Honor Oak, East Dulwich and Lewisham between July 15 and 19.
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The map of occurences in the link could be an underestimate as this happened at least once on Devonshire Road (not mentioned).