A gang of thieves have been jailed after using a keyless device disguised as a Nintendo Game Boy to steal £2 million worth of cars in north and east London.
The gang used the device to quickly open the targeted vehicles and start them in seconds, making it appear as if someone was opening the car with a key.
Cars were stolen from Barnet, Enfield, Haringey, Redbridge, Waltham Forest, Barking and Dagenham, Havering and Newham between October 2018 and December 2022.
A group of five men were sentenced at Snaresbrook Crown Court last Friday to a total of 13 years and five months between them over the thefts.
Officers began an investigation into the group in January 2022 after discovering that a series of car thefts in north London were linked.
They later executed 20 warrants in February 2023, after gathering information from police services across the UK. Vehicles were recovered as far afield as Scotland and Wales.
Alfie Brown, 31, and Andre Clarke, 33, were identified as lead figures of the network along with another man, with each of them involved in the theft, cloning or sale of each vehicle.
In May 2021, Brown and Clarke were linked to the theft of a Volvo in the Chigwell area while a three-year-old child was still inside the vehicle.
When the pair realised what they had done they came to a sudden stop which left the child with minor injuries. They subsequently abandoned the car with the child still inside.
Buyers of the vehicles would meet Brown and Clarke, who pretended to be car dealers and even provided fake invoices and service history documents.
These sales also uncovered the extensive network of money launderers used by the group.
Officers found that Clarke even set up a business account called ‘ACC Motors LTD’ to receive payments from victims or launderers.
The five men involved received the following sentences:
– Brown was sentenced to five-and-a-half years for conspiracy to steal a motor vehicle and conspiracy to possess/ acquire criminal property
– Clarke was sentenced to four years and three months for conspiracy to steal a motor vehicle and conspiracy to possess/ acquire criminal property
– Marcin Gorecki, 40, was given a two-year suspended sentence for conspiracy to possess/ acquire criminal property
– Mark Preece, 30, was given a nine-month sentence suspended for 12 months, for conspiracy to possess/ acquire criminal property
– David Burvill, 36, was given an 11-month sentence suspended for 15 months, for conspiracy to possess/ acquire criminal property
Detective Constable Dave Van Der Valk, from the Met’s Specialist Crime North team who led the investigation, said: “Thanks to the hard work and perseverance of highly skilled officers in the Met, we have been able to disrupt a sophisticated crime operation.
“There were two layers of victims in this case – those who had their cars stolen and those who bought the stolen cars. Those who bought the stolen cars without realising were truly the most affected as they did not receive any compensation from insurance companies which meant there were 170 victims affected by the heartless behaviour of the group.
“This verdict, and lengthy two-year investigation that led to it, demonstrate that we’ll leave no stone unturned in our pursuit to catch criminals who look to enjoy the proceeds of illicit funds – no matter how complex the case.”
