An organised crime gang responsible for stealing more than 70 high-value vehicles worth an estimated £2 million has been jailed for a combined total of more than 27 years.
The group carried out a sophisticated nationwide crime spree between March and October 2023, targeting premium vehicles across Staffordshire, Derbyshire, Cheshire, Nottinghamshire, Cleveland and London. Most of the thefts occurred in Staffordshire, where the gang used advanced technology to defeat vehicle security systems.
The scale of the offending first emerged in May 2023, when parts from stolen vehicles were recovered in Kent and Hampshire. Further dismantled vehicle parts were later found in Southampton in July, pointing to a well-established network breaking down and redistributing stolen cars.
In August 2023, officers in Derbyshire stopped a Toyota linked to the investigation. Inside the vehicle, police found signal-jamming equipment, vehicle tracking devices and transmission tools, along with a hotel room key in Longton, Stoke-on-Trent. A subsequent search of the hotel room uncovered items from a vehicle stolen just two days earlier, leading to further arrests.
Around a month later, police searched a workshop in Longton, where they discovered two dismantled stolen cars and two stolen vans, all taken within the previous 48 hours. Another gang member was arrested at the scene, while forensic evidence linked multiple suspects to both the workshop and the stolen vehicles.
In November 2023, officers searched storage containers in Etruria, Stoke-on-Trent, uncovering further remnants of stolen cars.
Following an extensive multi-force investigation, the gang members were sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court on 10 December. Those jailed include:
Tomas Krapauskas, 48, of Ilford, Essex – jailed for five years and five months after admitting conspiracy to steal vehicles and failing to answer bail
Raimondas Micieka, 38, of Dagenham, Essex – sentenced to four years’ imprisonment
Sarunas Svagzdys, 43, of Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire – jailed for two years and 11 months
Darren Lee Wilkinson, 39, of HMP Ranby, Nottinghamshire – sentenced to four years and 11 months
Two further members were sentenced earlier at Stafford Crown Court. A 40-year-old man from Great Yarmouth received 32 months, while a 36-year-old man from Romford was jailed for 37 months after admitting conspiracy to steal motor vehicles.
Detective Sergeant Andy Durber, from CID, praised the investigation, describing the operation as “incredibly sophisticated crime on a national scale”.
He added: “This offending has impacted the livelihoods of many victims. No matter the scale or complexity, we will take robust action against those responsible for burglary and vehicle crime, wherever they operate
