damage to a private car that had been stolen from a residence in Warwick.

And the car's owner, David Abbott of Southampton, is today taking legal advice because he wants full compensation for the dents and broken glass that he claims were the result of detectives' stopping and searching the seven-year-old Toyota Starlet hatchback.

Mr. Abbott also alleges that personal property, pictures and paint brushes, were stolen from the vehicle while it was in Police custody at Prospect.

Last Thursday Mr. Abbott left the car with his friend Herman Santucci of Pearman's Hill in Warwick. Santucci parked the car in his yard and retired to his home.

Another man, he alleges, came over and removed the car keys from a drawer and took the car and parked it near a home on Hillview Lane in Warwick.

The Royal Gazette understands that the Task Force detectives had swarmed the location because they were tipped off about a sizeable quantity of money and drugs hidden in a house on Hillview Lane.

One of the officers recognised the man who Santucci alleged had removed Abbott's car and approached him because he had several outstanding warrants.

It is understood that they used force to stop the car and subsequently arrested the man.