Robert McGivern of Bridge End Road, was arrested during the police operation at the Ponderosa scrap yard and was due to appear before magistrates in Sudbury.

Two other men from Red Lodge, a 76-year-old and 65-year-old, were arrested in London on suspicion of money laundering yesterday morning.

They were being held in custody awaiting transfer to Suffolk where they will be questioned by detectives.

Three other men have also been released on bail.

A 33-year-old man and 21-year-old man, both from Bury and a 30-year-old man of no fixed address have been bailed to return to Bury St Edmunds Police Station on November 20.

The operation involved around 100 officers and officials from a range of agencies and was supported by the Essex police force helicopter.

They were looking for stolen metal and each of the several hundred vehicles in the yard was being checked by specialist vehicle examiners. A crane was due to be used on Tuesday to dismantle stacks of scrap vehicles so closer checks could be made.

Scrap cable, power tools and other items were also examined.

Insp Kim Warner of Suffolk Police said: "In the past six months in the Forest Heath district there has been in excess of £60,000 of metal thefts."

But he said the investigation was looking at possible thefts across a wide area and the Suffolk force was working with Cambridgeshire, Essex and Norfolk forces.

He added: "We are keen to get as much information as we can from the community about any premises dealing with stolen metal or vehicles."