Behind bars, crook who handled stolen cars worth £100k
JAILED FOR FIVE AND A HALF YEARS AFTER SERIES OF THEFTS
A MAN who admitted handling stolen luxury motors worth more than £100,000 has been jailed.
Keaton Samuel, 22, was caged for five and a half years after pleading guilty to conspiracy to handle stolen goods at Bolton Crown Court.
Police say Samuel, of Netherton Road in Fallowfield, was linked to a string of thefts of luxury vehicles including Audis, BMWs and Mercedes.
The sports cars were pinched from addresses in Stockport, Altrincham and Manchester in what has been described by police as a ‘professional’ car burglary ring.
Police arrested Samuel on October 25 last year after he was seen getting into a BMW M3 that had been stolen overnight.
When the family car Samuel had arrived in was searched by police, they found a number of keys to other vehicles stolen from across the region.
A stash of tools used for stealing cars was discovered in a second stolen vehicle in St Clements Church car park in Edge Lane, Chorlton.
False number plates, nitrile gloves, telescopic ladders, bolt cutters and a camel pack rucksack containing tools were among the uncovered items.
Police at the Stockport burglary unit eventually linked Samuel to a series of burglaries committed between August 13, 2017 and October 25, 2017.
Samuel pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to handle stolen goods at Bolton Crown Court on Tuesday (April 24).
He admitted that the cars he handled were worth in excess of £100,000 in total. The 22-year-old was jailed for five and a half years by Judge Timothy Clayton, honorary recorder of Bolton.
DC Matt Tarr, of Stockport CID, Greater Manchester Police, said: “This was a complex investigation into a professional team of burglars.
“Samuel has provided on outlet for those committing these crimes, allowing them and himself to prosper. DC Matt Tarr, Stockport CID “These crimes have caused a great deal of upset and misery to the victims who have been burgled. “I hope this sentence sends a strong message to those who commit such crimes and know that we will pursue all lines of enquiry to demonstrate their level of criminality.”