Six highly skilled car thieves sent to jail in London, England

  Burglary gang jailed

A skilled six-strong ‘car key’ burglary gang who stole more than half a million pounds worth of high-end performance cars have been jailed at Snaresbrook Crown Court.

The stolen cars were sold abroad by handlers.

The four men sentenced yesterday, Tuesday 13 July, were:

Thomas Dickinson, 21, of MilvertonGardens, Seven Kings, Ilford, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to burgle, was sentenced to three years.

Petras Aleknavicious, 27,  pleaded guilty to conspiracy to handle stolen goods, was sentenced to four years.

Vitalijus Matulis, 29, of Campsey Road, Barking, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to handle stolen goods, possession of false identification (Driving Licence) and possession of a false passport, was sentenced to six years;

Daniel Rene, 26, of 25 LeamingtonGardens, Ilford, who was found guilty of conspiracy to burgle after originally denying the charge, was sentenced to five.

Two other members of the gang had previously been handed prison sentences in March 2009 at Snaresbrook Crown Court:

Robbie Duff, 23, of Milverton Gardens, Ilford, who pleaded guilty to three residential burglaries and asked for 23 further burglaries to be taken into consideration, was sentenced to five years in jail; and Dean Carey, 26, of Milverton Gardens, Ilford, who had pleaded guilty to burglary and theft, received three years imprisonment.

The MPS’ Territorial Policing Crime Squad set up the special operation that finally ensnared the gang to combat a high number of burglaries of cars such as Audis, Mercedes and Porsches in the boroughs of Barking and Dagenham, Havering and Redbridge between January and June 2009.

During their spree last year the gang stole 25 high value vehicles worth around £520,000. The gang identified properties with high value cars sitting in the driveways before breaking in to the premises by popping the front door locks in order to steal the car keys of householders.

Some victims even saw their vehicles being driven away as they rushed out onto their driveways – and one burglary involved a Special Constable confronting the gang as they were disturbed trying to steal his car off the driveway in Billericay.

It is thought that the vehicles were being stolen to order and then placed on false registration plates and moved across London and out of the UK. Police believe the role of burglars was carried out by Duff, Dickinson, Carey and Rene and that Matulis and Aleknavicious moved, handled and sold on the vehicles.

The identification of the two handlers Matulis and Aleknavicious led the police to detect methods of concealment using foreign documentation and registration techniques that were at the time unknown to MPS intelligence units. Full debriefing of the operation subsequently assisted AVCIS (the ACPO Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service) and Europol.

DCI Neil Thompson, of the Territorial Policing Crime Squad, said: "The results today (Tuesday 13 July) are a consequence of an intense intelligence-led operation undertaken to reduce residential burglary in the MPS by disrupting a sophisticated criminal network based in Ilford, who operated across north London, force and international boundaries.

"Due to the sterling efforts of DS Steve King and DC Paul Crowther, the two main handlers of property, in this case high value motor vehicles which were stolen to order, were identified working in cohorts with a team of local burglars. These handlers who were of Lithuanian extraction were using overseas contacts to exploit exportation routes.

"I’d like to take this opportunity to also thank officers from Barking and Dagenham, Redbridge and Havering boroughs for their commitment and dedication whilst seconded to the TP Crime Squad."