A number of stolen vehicles - believed to be destined for export to West Africa - have been recovered by Gardai as part of ‘Operation Waste’.

Three stolen vehicles - an Audi Q7, a Toyota Avensis and a Mercedes S350 - were recovered before they could be exported.

Using Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) Gardaí also recovered 11 others parked in communal areas of housing and industrial estates where it is believed they were being prepared for export.

Operation Waste is a joint operation between Dublin Metropolitan garda Traffic Division and Dublin City Council’s Waste Management Team. It “was established to combat the use of public roads by uninsured, untested and dangerously loaded vehicles arriving at Dublin Port, destined for export to West Africa,” according to An Garda Síochána.

Since its inception in September 2014 the operation has seen over 50 vehicles - including cars and articulated trucks - detained for either no insurance or no certificate of road-worthiness.

Most of the vehicles gardaí recovered had been stolen during the course of burglaries where the keys had been fished out through the letterboxes of homes.

Gardai are reminding people to keep their keys stored in a secure place.