November 11th 2024.
In the upcoming paragraphs, I will be sharing with you the story of a gang that caused chaos and destruction by stealing machines and metals worth an astonishing £1.6 million from various businesses. These thieves, who referred to themselves as the "Sticky Bandits" after the infamous burglars from the movie Home Alone, were a group of five professional burglars who recorded themselves committing their crimes.
The gang members would often be seen laughing and joking on camera as they broke into industrial units and factories, causing harm and damage wherever they went. One member of the gang even went as far as posing as a mourner in a cemetery to gather information about a nearby warehouse that they planned to target. This shows the extent to which these criminals were willing to go to carry out their illegal activities.
Their crimes were mostly committed during the Christmas season of 2022, when many businesses were closed for the festive break. The gang took advantage of this and targeted ten firms in Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Dudley, Walsall, Bilston, Perry Barr, Brierley Hill, Kidderminster, Tamworth, and Shrewsbury. These ruthless individuals showed no mercy as they not only stole goods but also vandalized the properties by spray painting messages like "Ha ha. Merry Xmas, Happy New Year" before setting fire to a lorry they used to transport their stolen goods.
The gang, who were all from Wolverhampton, would spend hours at the targeted sites as they used heavy-duty machinery to steal metal and other valuable materials. They also stole vehicles from the businesses and used cloned plates on others to transport their loot back to their base on Watery Lane in Wolverhampton. It is believed that they sold the stolen goods to scrap dealers, showing that they were not only thieves but also involved in other illegal activities.
The gang went to great lengths to avoid getting caught, as they used a whopping 17 mobile phones between just three of them during their crime spree. They also filmed some of their raids on their own phones, even going as far as referring to themselves as the "Sticky Bandits," a nod to the iconic burglars from the Home Alone movies.
During one of their raids, the gang drew a lewd image on the floor of a business and wrote "Merry Christmas. Happy New Year." This not only shows their lack of respect for others' property but also their twisted sense of humor. One member even recorded a nearby business from a cemetery, where he could be heard saying, "Do you think I'm sad that I made it look like I was mourning on a grave just so I could scope out the building?"
The gang's actions were finally brought to justice when detectives used CCTV footage and phone records to identify and arrest them in a series of dawn raids in June of last year. The total loss to the businesses was estimated at £1.6 million, with an additional £200,000 in damages to the properties. This does not include the financial impact of lost sales, increased security measures, and higher insurance premiums, which amounted to over £800,000.
The five men responsible for these heinous crimes were sentenced to a combined total of over 30 years in prison by the Wolverhampton Crown Court. Adam Shakespeare, 31, was given six years and five months in jail, while David Smith, 36, Lee Fletcher, 33, and Royston Hallard, 30, were each sentenced to six years and four months. The fifth member, David Williams, 44, was jailed for three years and four months.
Detective Constable Kelly Whyte, from the West Midlands Police's Major Crime Proactive Unit, expressed her satisfaction with the outcome of the investigation, stating, "This was serious, organized, and professional criminality on an industrial scale." She also added, "We are pleased that they are now starting significant prison sentences, which should serve as a message to anyone involved in serious and organized crime that we will hunt them down and bring them to justice."
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