Six prolific burglars have been sentenced to a combined total of more than 54 years following a major investigation into a crime spree that targeted homes across the South East of England.
Surrey Police’s Serious Organised Crime Unit uncovered the gang responsible for 53 burglaries between November 2024 and March 2025. Their offences spanned Surrey, Sussex, London, Thames Valley, Hertfordshire, and Essex, with Surrey alone seeing strikes in towns including Windlesham, Weybridge, Epsom, Stanwell, Egham, Englefield Green, Bisley, Staines, Chertsey, Frimley, and Tadworth.
The gang operated with sophisticated methods, using stolen vehicles with cloned number plates, keeping mobile phones off or leaving them behind, and attempting to clean crime scenes to destroy evidence. Police, however, deployed a high-tech surveillance operation using CCTV, automatic number plate recognition (ANPR), and drones to track the suspects.
In March, officers arrested the gang members in a stolen vehicle filled with stolen goods. At Kingston Crown Court on 17 December, all six pleaded guilty and were sentenced as follows:
Felix McCann, 33, Wembley: 10 years 10 months for 16 counts of conspiracy to commit burglary
Michael Purcell, 34, Aylesbury: 8 years for 10 offences
Patrick Nolan, 35, London: 10 years 10 months for 19 offences
George Price, 34, St Helens: 10 years 2 months for 21 offences
Lawrence Connors, 32, Hayes: 11 years 10 months for 11 offences and breaching a criminal behaviour order
Miles Doran, 36, Pinner: 2 years 8 months for one burglary and one attempted burglary
Detective Chief Inspector Antony Leadbeatter described the gang as “organised criminals relentlessly targeting ordinary homes,” adding, “This was burglary on an industrial scale. Our message is clear – if you target Surrey, we will target you.”
The operation sends a strong warning to criminals across the region: persistent law enforcement and modern technology make it increasingly difficult to evade justice.
