Forty cars seized in crackdown on boy racers

Canterbury police have seized more than 40 vehicles and ordered another 50 off the road because of mechanical faults during a major operation against "boy racers" this weekend.

The operation took place as a large number of car enthusiasts flocked into Christchurch for the Auto Salon car show.

Canterbury police Strategic Traffic Unit (STU) worked with other agencies such as Land Transport New Zealand and the Department for Courts during the operation.

STU head Senior Sergeant Trevor Pullen said that on Friday night police closed off Hasketts Road and checked well over 300 vehicles through an established checkpoint.

Many vehicles were found to be defective and some were seized by court bailiffs for unpaid fines.

Tickets were issued for offences including breaching drivers' licences, defective vehicles and breaches of the boy racer legislation.

He said police were concerned at the number of vehicles being used by young people that were either owned by parents or bought for young people by parents and used for committing offences relating to illegal street racing activity.

Police issued 42 tickets for noise, found six people with excess breath/alcohol levels and issued 102 tickets for breaching a drivers' licence.

- NZPA