‘Midnight Removal Men’ in £500k raids on homes
A GANG who nicknamed themselves ‘The Midnight Removal Men’ brought misery to residents after stealing more than £500,000 worth of high-value cars, motorbikes, bicycles and other expensive property, a court heard.
The six men targeted homes mainly across Stockport and Derbyshire, taking Audis, Mini Coopers, BMWs and VW Golfs.
More than 20 cars were stolen during the nine-month crime spree. Not all have been recovered. Some of the stolen cars were later spotted with false number plates.
Prosecutors said the seven defendants were part of a larger gang which targeted homes, garages and sheds to steal cars and other high value property including laptops, watches, handbags and gardening tools from October 2016 to July last year.
In April last year, seven burglaries or attempted burglaries took place in Marple on one night alone. Police said Daniel Lloyd, Aaron Sowter and Wayne Hester were the ringleaders of the group.
Layton Doran and Regan Harte were described as playing ‘key roles.’
Apparently bragging about his criminality, Harte listed his occupation on Facebook as ‘Big Boss at Midnight Removals.’
Chris Hargreaves lent the group his van to transport stolen vehicles.
Casey Wilson allowed Lloyd, her boyfriend, to keep stolen goods at her house. Now the ringleaders have been jailed for a total of 20 years.
Andrew Smith, prosecuting, said: “It is the Crown’s case that these defendants were part of larger group who had agreed to enter private dwelling houses, garages and sheds in order to steal expensive items, but also, as available, targeting car keys so that motor vehicles could be stolen.
“In total the conspiracies involved 45 identified substantive offences, although telephone evidence details many others, and the total value of the property stolen exceeds half a million pounds.”
A Minshull Street Crown Court sentencing hearing heard that the 45 offences included 26 burglaries. Of those, 10 homes were occupied when the thieves struck. Properties in Gatley, Marple, Marple Bridge, Woodley, Cheadle Heath, Styal and Romiley – plus Buxton and Chapel-en-le-Frith – were targeted.
Prosecutors were able to piece together the gang’s movements using phone and cell site data. They found that Casey Wilson had been searching the internet for reports of burglaries.
She was asked whether a story she found was related to the activities of Lloyd. Messages recovered also related to the purchase and sale of stolen items. When Lloyd and Sowter were arrested alongside Wilson at her home, police found stolen watches and handbags.
Doran and Harte were arrested after they were chased by police in a stolen Audi A5. The car crashed and they ran off but were caught by police.
After the hearing, Det Sgt Lee Barlow said: “Today’s result comes as a result of a long-running and meticulous operation looking at the activities of this Brinnington-based organised crime group. They inflicted misery on their victims by stealing their prized possessions in one of the most invasive ways possible – sneaking into homes as people slept and taking their valuables. Their roles may have differed with some seeming relatively minor, but they each played a key part in the conspiracy to carry out these burglaries.”
Lloyd, 26, of Middlesex Road, Brinnington; Sowter, 25, of Northumberland Road, Brinnington, and Hester, 22, of Lapwing Lane, Brinnington, all pleaded guilty to conspiracy to burgle and conspiracy to steal. They all received six years and eight months in prison.
Doran, 18, of Stockport Road, Cheadle, and Harte, 19, of Morgan Place, Stockport, both pleaded guilty to conspiracy to steal and burgle.
Doran was sentenced to a two-year detention and training order while Harte received four years in a young offenders’ institute.
Wilson, 26, of Middlesex Road, Brinnington, was given a 12-month community order after pleading guilty to handling stolen goods and possession of counterfeit currency.
Hargreaves, 36, of Middlesex Road, Brinnington, received a 21-month sentence, suspended for two years, for assisting an offender.