Spate of keyless luxury car thefts hits Hampshire
CROOKS are believed to have used relay devices to get their hands on BMWs and Mercedes during a spate of keyless car thefts across a Hampshire district.
Today Hampshire Constabulary appealed for witnesses after six highperformance cars were all stolen in the space of a few weeks from the Hart area.
Warning people to be vigilant, police said, during each incident, the culprits “appear to have started these remotely via a relay device, which connects with the vehicle’s fob”.
Incidents include the theft of a black BMW 320d SE, stolen from outside a property on West Green Road in Hartley Wintney between 11.30pm on Monday, October 18 and 7am on Tuesday, October 19.
And overnight between Tuesday, October 12 and Wednesday, October 13 police also received reports of three car thefts near Great Sheldon’s Coppice in Hook.
A white BMW 520d M Sport, a red Mercedes GLC 250 and a black Mercedes GLE 250 AMG were all reported stolen.
Two other incidents took place in Fleet during the early hours of
Wednesday, October 6. A black Mercedes AMG E63 was stolen from a driveway on Heathland Close and a grey Mercedes GLC 250 was also reported stolen from outside a property on Kenwith Avenue.
Police are appealing for witnesses and are keen to speak with anyone who may have heard or seen anything out of the ordinary overnight during the times mentioned.
Hart District Neighbourhood Sergeant Martyn Evans said: “In each of these cases the vehicles have been stolen without the use of keys.
“Offenders are using increasingly sophisticated tools to steal cars with keyless entry by tricking the system into thinking the key is nearby. They do not need to gain access to your home to take the keys.
“Were you in the area the time? Do you have CCTV or dash cam footage that could help? I am urging anyone with any information about these incidents to get in touch with us.”
He added: “We also have some simple crime prevention advice that can help people protect their property.
“The offending seems to be taking place along the A30 corridor, so I would advise people who live in this area, including Fleet, Hook and Basingstoke, to have a look at the following advice.”