Mercedes-Benz, Audi among chop shop’s $160k of vehicles destined for Middle East, police allege

Tuesday, 23 June 2026

Police have accused the owner of NZ All Cars Dismantlers of running an illegal “chop shop”.

Police have accused a Canterbury auto dismantler of recklessly receiving more than $160,000 of stolen vehicles destined for the Middle East in an organised ‘chop shop’ operation.

Hassan Akbari, the sole director and co-owner of NZ All Cars Dismantlers Ltd, has been charged with close to 30 offences in the Christchurch District Court linked to an alleged criminal enterprise.

The 48-year-old is progressing towards a jury trial and details of his case have not been suppressed, a court representative has confirmed.

On its website, NZ All Cars Dismantlers said it buys vehicles including those that are not registered or running.

Police announced Akbari’s arrest - without identifying him - late last month and alleged his “chop shop” was stripping vehicles and shipping them to the United Arab Emirates.

It followed the downfall of Christchurch-based chop shop Lion Auto Dismantlers in 2024, which saw businessman Abdul Karim Alizadah imprisoned for three years and three months after receiving close to $1m of stolen cars.

Christchurch District Court charge sheets listed more than 25 alleged instances Akbari recklessly received stolen vehicles from January 1, 2020. It included a Mercedes-Benz S430 valued at $20,000, a Mitsubishi Pajero at $15,000 and an Audi A3 at $12,630.

Other brands included Toyota, Nissan, Ford, Isuzu, Hyundai and Honda. The cars were claimed to have been received from both unknown and named persons.

Akbari was accused of participating in an organised criminal group, failing to maintain records of sellers and vehicles, and failing to report goods suspected of being stolen to police.

NZ All Cars Dismantlers is based in Kainga, Canterbury.

NZ All Cars Dismantlers was incorporated in February 2018 under the name Very Affordable Cars. Akbari was the director from the beginning and currently owns 70% of the company.

On its website, the business claimed to be one of the leading auto dismantlers in Christchurch that “pays top cash for all vehicles whether they are complete vehicles or just scrap vehicles sitting somewhere on your property”.

It indicated customers could expect up to $5000 for a car, $9000 for a van or 4WD, and $15,000 for a truck. The business said customers would need photo identification and to fill out paperwork for some transactions.

“This practice takes time and skills. You have to have the skills and efficiency to dismantle a car. This is only more important when you have to dismantle many cars in one day,” the website said of its professional team.

“We buy all cars whether they are complete wreak (sic) or just a running car. It never matters if your car has no WOF or has no REGO or is deregistered. We want them very badly.”

Phone numbers listed for the business did not connect on Friday afternoon.

Akbari was scheduled to next appear at the Christchurch District Court in September.