Vehicle rebirthing operation taken down by police

The Victoria Police Special Operations Group in partnership with the Fugitive Squad have arrested a man concerning an alleged vehicle rebirthing racket.

Following the arrest of the 35-year-old, a search of the man's Doveton home and at a factory in Dandenong South – located in Melbourne's southeast – uncovered a stolen Holden Commodore, a stolen engine, illicit drugs, and a "significant quantity" of cash.

Also seized were more than 40 cloned number plates.

Another search conducted in relation to the investigation uncovered a commercial quantity of drugs along with $30,000 in cash.

While police did not publicly link the two cases, the latest arrest comes just days after a 44-year-old Frankston North man was charged following the alleged discovery by officers of equipment used in the manufacture of cloned number plates – with Frankston North being a 15-minute drive from Dandenong South.

In February 2023, police warned the public to blur their number plates when selling a car online – with cloned number plates being made to order, so criminals can continue to drive stolen vehicles without being identified by automatic number plate recognition cameras fitted to police cars.

It's almost 12 months since Victoria Police dismantled a multi-million-dollar HSV rebirthing operation, in which 30 high-performance Holden models and numerous engines and transmissions were allegedly stolen from across Melbourne.