A gang of car thieves used a keyless device disguised as a Nintendo Gameboy to steal £2 million worth of vehicles, a court has heard.
At least 170 cars across London were stolen by the gang over four years. One Volvo was stolen and driven away with the owner’s three-year-old child strapped into a rear car seat, Snaresbrook Crown Court was told.
The gang cloned the victims’ cars by using identical number plates and produced forged documents that were so convincing they were able to sell them to dealers as well as private buyers.
The vehicles were stolen in Barnet, Enfield, Haringey, Redbridge, Waltham Forest, Barking, and Chigwell between October 2018 and December 2022.
In May 2021, gang leaders Alfie Brown, 31, and Andre Clarke, 33, tried to steal the Volvo in Chigwell with the three year-old still inside.
When they realised the toddler was in the car, they screeched to a halt, leaving the child with minor injuries as they ran off.
David Burvill, 36, and Mark Preece, 30, laundered £78,000 from the sale of the stolen cars.
Marcin Gorecki, 40, who worked at British Car Auctions, operated as an insider for the gang, helping to move the stolen cars and sold a Jaguar which had been exchanged for a stolen vehicle with cloned plates to a car dealership in Essex in 2019.
The gang was sentenced to a total of 13 years and five months.
Detective Constable Dave Van Der Valk, from the Met’s Specialist Crime North team who led the investigation, said: “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.”
Scotland Yard launched an investigation into the gang in January 2022 when officers discovered that a series of car thefts in north London were linked.
Brown, of Aberdeen Road, Edmonton, was sentenced to five-and-a-half years for conspiracy to steal a motor vehicle and conspiracy to possess or acquire criminal property.
Clarke of Beehive Road, Waltham Cross, was sentenced to four years and three months for conspiracy to steal a motor vehicle and conspiracy to possess or acquire criminal property.
Gorecki of Eleanor Way, Waltham Cross, was given a two year suspended sentence for conspiracy to possess or acquire criminal property.
Preece, of Shakespeare Road, Romford, was given a nine month sentence suspended for 12 months, for conspiracy to possess or acquire criminal property.
David Burvill of Eastwood Rise, Leigh-on-Sea, was given an 11-month sentence suspended for 15 months, for conspiracy to possess or acquire criminal property.
