Two police detectives have been commended for their work in a major 'chop shop' investigation near Bicester which resulted in the recovery of £500,000 worth of stolen vehicles.

Detective Sergeant Simon Travis and Detective Constable Sam Buzzard received Chief Constable Commendations on Monday (October 7) at an awards ceremony for their work in a protracted investigation which resulted in the disruption of an Organised Crime Group (OCG) network.

Mr Travis was the officer in charge of the case and worked alongside Mr Buzzard, the disclosure officer, and Detective Constable Rebecca Preedy during the three-and-a-half-year investigation.

Police were tipped off to attend the A34 chop shop scheme in Weston-on-the-Green near Bicester in April 2020.

The ringleader, Ali Teli, received a six years’ custodial sentence in August 2023.

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(Image: Thames Valley Police) Mr Buzzard has been with Thames Valley Police for eight years and a detective for four years, and it was his first time receiving a Chief Constable Commendation. 

Mr Travis has received commendations before, and this was also his first Chief Constable Recognition. 

Mr Travis said the investigation was a "team effort" and described the outcome as "positive closure".

Mr Buzzard echoed this and described the outcome as "satisfying". 

"As part of our investigation we had to travel to a lot of different parts of the country to go and see lots of different victims," Mr Buzzard said.

"So it was nice to be able to give them some sort of outcome."

Speaking on receiving the commendations, Mr Travis said they felt "proud".

"It was a three and a half year investigation - it was hard work.

"Like I said, with the positive results, we're proud of that aspect - it's lovely to be commended for hard work.

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"As officers, as we all know, we all go out every day and do amazing work, and not everyone is commended for it, so to get recognition for the job that we did, [we're] very proud."

Speaking on the impact of the investigation on the community, Mr Buzzard said: "Every car that was there, was taken criminally.

"I remember one victim was held at knife point whilst his car was taken.

"Every one of those cars had a victim behind it, so being able to dismantle that chop shop and put a stop to it, I feel like it did have a big impact."

Mr Travis added: "It's great to work alongside two friends rather than colleagues and to get a positive outcome, it just showed what team work can do. I'm very proud of everybody."