Duterte crushes £4m-worth of luxury cars and motorcycles as part of anti-corruption campaign

Philippines president watches on as heavy machinery destroys vehicles

Rodrigo Duterte has crushed more than £4m-worth of luxury cars and motorcycles as part of an anti-corruption campaign.

The Philippines government shared footage on Facebook of heavy machinery crushing 76 smuggled cars including Porsches and Lamborghinis and bikes in front of a crowd of spectators, which included the president.

They were part of a haul of 800 vehicles illegally imported into the Asian country, according to an official statement.

The president’s Facebook page said 68 luxury cars were being “publicly wrecked through backhoe and bulldozer”, alongside eight motorbikes, including models by Harley-Davidson, Triumph and Chopper.

In February, Mr Duterte ordered the destruction of 30 luxury vehicles, claiming that selling them at auction would allow criminals to bid under false identities.

It comes after Philippine police vowed to intensify a fight against drugs following Mr Duterte’s promise to keep up his bloody crackdown, a campaign that has alarmed the international community.

"Surgical and chilling will be the trademark of the reinvigorated anti-illegal drugs and anti-criminality campaign," police chief Oscar Albayalde said at a news conference.

Thousands of suspected drug dealers and users have been killed in the past two years in what police say were shootouts.