Almost 100 stolen cars have been seized by gardaí in the last 20 months as criminal gangs attempted to export them from the Republic.

The cars included a brand new Range Rover along with Mercedes, BMW and Audi models.

Since January 2015 , a two member team running Operation Waste has been working out of Dublin Castle to prevent criminals from exporting cars collectively worth millions of euro.

Gardaí estimate the stolen cars were worth about €1.5 million per year to thieves who in many cases got the car keys during burglaries, even using fishing rods pushed through letter boxes to hook the keys from a hall table.

Since January 2015 a total of 91 vehicles with an estimated value of about €2 million have been recovered by Operation Waste.

The operation is under the supervision of Det Insp Michael O’Connor.

Along with high end vehicles, Nissan Qashqais, Volkswagen Golfs and other family cars have also been recovered. Motorcycles and commercial vehicles have also been found.

In some cases “cloned vehicles”, which are vehicles which use the registration and papers of a similar vehicle, were found. Such vehicles included an Audi Q7 SUV and a Toyota Avensis D-Cat which were recovered before they were exported to Africa.

Operation Waste has also recovered a number of vehicles bearing false registration plates and documents, listed for sale on popular websites.

A dismantled Audi Q5, BMW 3 series and a 2015 VW Golf along with other vehicles were discovered in an articulated trailer destined for Eastern Europe.

As well as port inspections with customs officers and an x-ray scanner, the unit also employs automatic number plate technology and intelligence analysis to track stolen and cloned vehicles on Dublin’s roads.

In some circumstances these vehicles had already been sold on to unsuspecting buyers both in Ireland and abroad.

The two-officer team running Operation Waste is assisted by the Garda Stolen Motor Vehicle Investigation Unit, and the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation.

The unit was originally set up in September 2014 with the aim the aim of monitoring the export of vehicles from the State to destinations such as the UK, Africa, Lithuania and Poland.

More than 60 uninsured or un-roadworthy cars and heavy goods vehicles have also been detained, resulting in a number of drivers being disqualified from driving for having no insurance.