Four men sentenced for stealing BMWs, Mercedes and Jaguars in London, England

A gang of burglars have been sentenced at Isleworth Crown Court on Friday 16 July for stealing hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of high performance cars from victims’ driveways.

26-year-old Craig Foskett, unemployed of Knoll Crescent, Northwood, Harrow, was sentenced to four years imprisonment;

22-year-old Lewis Nevard, unemployed of Greenway, Pinner, Harrow, was sentenced to three years imprisonment;

21-year-old Ben Lordan, unemployed of Greenway, Pinner, Harrow, was sentenced to three years imprisionment;

21-year-old Danielle Costello, unemployed of Balmoral Drive, Hayes, Hillingdon, was sentenced to 52 weeks imprisonment, suspended for two years, with an electronic curfew from 7pm -7am for six months and a supervision order for 18 months.

All four individuals pleaded guilty to one charge each of conspiracy to burgle relating to fifteen separate offences in Isleworth Crown Court in February. The three men and one woman were originally arrested in November 2009 in a series of dawn raids at a string of addresses in north London.

The organised criminal network had been targeting top of the range vehicles at residential addresses in north London, Hertforshire and ThamesValley – with up to 30 vehicles believed stolen worth a total of around £390,000.

Dozens of cars including BMWs, Mercedes, Audis and Jaguars were spirited away by the network after they seized the car keys by burgling the houses of the owners first. The gang often targeted driveways with two ‘his and hers’ cars on them, stealing both at the same time.

The vehicles, worth anywhere between £15,000-£60,000 each, were then sold on through a variety of channels.

Other property was also stolen from the same premises by the opportunist thieves – including cash, jewellery, laptops and credit cards.

Operation Okul was led by the Territorial Policing Crime Squad, and supported by local officers from the Territorial Support Group as well as borough officers from Harrow and Hillingdon.

The judge in the case, His Honour Judge Edmunds, commended Detective Sergeant Jim Madden, DC Simon McKenzie, DC Steve Masterson, DC Paul Brown and analyst Janine Daland for their "excellent, diligent investigation."

Detective Chief Inspector Neil Thompson of the TP London Crime Squad, said: "We worked together with our colleagues from borough and other units on sustained enforcement to disrupt this gang involved in residential burglary, and the sentences show that we are committed to bringing these offenders to justice. I would like to take this opportunity to urge householders to take measures to secure their valuables and property."