Four men have been arrested in Leicester as part of an investigation into an allegedly crooked second-hand car dealer.
The men, two aged 32, the others 38 and 49, were detained on Tuesday at an undisclosed location in the city.
All four have been questioned and released on bail. The name of the company at the centre of the investigation has not been released.
The investigation was launched in response to a series of complaints about the firm's practices.
Investigators said the company allegedly sold defective and, in some cases, dangerous vehicles.
It is also alleged it offered or sold worthless warranties and that some customers had complained that when they tried to return the vehicles to the seller they were met with denials the faults existed or refusals to help.
Some customers have told trading standards investigators they were threatened when they complained.
The operation was carried out by the Trading Standards East Midlands Scambusters team, the Government Agency Intelligence Network, the East Midlands Special Operations Unit and Leicestershire Police.
