A group of car thieves has been sentenced to prison after stealing vehicles worth £2 million using a keyless device disguised as a Nintendo Game Boy.
The gang’s gadget allowed them to unlock the cars and start them within seconds.
It gave the impression that the cars were being accessed with a normal key.
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An investigation by Metropolitan Police officers across north London revealed this highly organised crime network.
The cars were stolen in areas including Barnet, Enfield, Haringey, Redbridge, Waltham Forest, Barking and Dagenham, Havering, and Newham. The device they used resembled the classic 1990s portable gaming console.
Through data analysis and intelligence work, officers discovered that the group had stolen £2 million worth of vehicles between October 2018 and December 2022.
Five men were sentenced at Snaresbrook Crown Court on Friday, September 27, facing charges related to multiple vehicle thefts.
Collectively, the group received sentences amounting to 13 years and five months.
The investigation into this criminal ring began in January 2022, when police linked a series of car thefts in North London. By collaborating with specialist officers and the DVLA, the team managed to identify those responsible.
In February 2023, police executed 20 warrants.
The investigation involved police forces across the UK, with stolen vehicles being recovered as far away as Scotland and Wales, exposing the full extent of the group’s operations.
This led to the identification of Alfie Brown, 31, from Edmonton’s Aberdeen Road, and Andre Clarke, 33, from Beehive Road in Waltham Cross, as key players in the network, alongside another accomplice. They were involved in the theft, cloning, or sale of the stolen vehicles.
In May 2021, Brown and Clarke were linked to the theft of a Volvo in Chigwell, during which they unknowingly kidnapped the owner’s three-year-old child.
After realising what they had done, they stopped the car, leaving the child with minor injuries before abandoning the vehicle with the child still inside.
Investigators found that Brown and Clarke posed as car dealers when selling stolen cars, providing fake invoices and service histories to unsuspecting buyers.
The investigation also revealed the group’s extensive money-laundering network.
Through in-depth financial analysis, officers uncovered that Clarke even set up a business account, ‘ACC Motors LTD,’ to launder money and receive payments from victims and money launderers, as reported by VKNews24.com.
Two other men, David Burvill, 36, from Eastwood Rise in Leigh-on-Sea, and Mark Preece, 30, from Shakespeare Road in Romford, played key roles in laundering £78,000 from the sale of the stolen cars.
The group managed to evade capture for a long time by cloning number plates and vehicle documents. This fraudulent activity misled the DVLA and made their stolen cars appear legitimate, allowing them to sell the cars to dealers.
One of the gang’s longest-serving launderers was identified as Marcin Gorecki, 40, from Waltham Cross’s Eleanor Way. He worked at British Car Auction and was involved in selling a Jaguar with cloned plates to an Essex dealership in 2019.
Detective Constable Dave Van Der Valk from the Met’s Specialist Crime North team, who led the investigation, said: “Thanks to the dedication and perseverance of our highly skilled officers, we have managed to dismantle a complex crime operation.
“There were two types of victims in this case: those whose cars were stolen and those who unknowingly purchased the stolen cars.
“The buyers of these stolen cars were hit the hardest, as they did not receive any compensation from insurance companies. In total, 170 victims suffered due to the group’s ruthless actions.
“This outcome, and the extensive two-year investigation leading to it, shows that we are committed to tracking down criminals who profit from illegal activities, no matter how complex the case.”
At Snaresbrook Crown Court on September 27, the five men involved received the following sentences:
Alfie Brown was sentenced to five-and-a-half years for conspiracy to steal motor vehicles and conspiracy to possess/acquire criminal property.
Andre Clarke received a sentence of four years and three months for conspiracy to steal motor vehicles and conspiracy to possess/acquire criminal property.
Marcin Gorecki, 40, was handed a two-year suspended sentence for conspiracy to possess/acquire criminal property.
Mark Preece, 30, was given a nine-month suspended sentence for 12 months for conspiracy to possess/acquire criminal property.
David Burvill, 36, was sentenced to 11 months, suspended for 15 months, for conspiracy to possess/acquire criminal property.
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SOURCE: Keyless theft gang stole £2million of cars using device disguised as Nintendo Game Boy
