London - Ten migrants were arrested on Thursday after they were found hiding inside new Maseratis being taken to showrooms.
The group were found in the boots of the high-performance sports cars, which had been driven from Italy to Britain on a car transporter.
Police officers stopped the transporter outside a Ferrari dealership in Egham, Surrey, at 1pm on Thursday. The driver was not arrested.
The ruse is a departure from the normal method of illicit entry, which usually involves hiding in lorry trailers.
Maseratis are among the world’s most desirable sports cars, with even the cheapest costing £53 500 and many priced at more than £100 000. The migrants, thought to be Vietnamese, were searched before being taken into custody. Nine were taken to the Visa and Immigration centre in Dover and a child was taken to a separate custody centre under the care of social services.
Pictures showed shoes, clothes and personal belongings strewn around the boot of one of the cars, which had protective covers over their bodywork.
On Thursday night immigration officials were trying to establish where in Europe the group had managed to get inside the cars. The most popular spot to sneak into vehicles bound for Britain remains Calais, where thousands from Africa and Asia live in makeshift camps.
Daily Mail