Three jailed over car theft racket worth £450k

THREE ringleaders of a high-tech car theft racket have been jailed after nearly £500,000-worth of motors was snatched from Warwickshire and across the West Midlands.

Martin Islip, Lawson O’neill and Anthony Stewart were charged with conspiracy to steal 22 cars across the region back in 2019, but their trial was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Now they have now been put behind bars after being convicted. Islip, 34, and O’neill, 32, carried out keyless car thefts and mainly targeted Fords.

They stole cars by using electronically-programmed blank keys meaning they could carry out their crimes undetected and without breaking into homes. But the pair were arrested in June 2019 while driving a car containing a number of Ford keys, tools, gloves and items of clothing.

Stewart’s role was to collect and transport some of the stolen vehicles to Scotland, where he was arrested while driving one of the stolen cars. West Midlands Police was able to link all three to car thefts in Solihull, Chelmsley Wood, Castle Bromwich and several parts of Birmingham.

Their trial finally took place in March this year. They were found guilty and sentenced on May 12. Islip, of Wheatstone Road, Wolverhampton, was given a fiveand-a-half year sentence.

O’neill, of Over Green Drive, Birmingham, was given three years, and Stewart, 39, of Cedar Road, Glasgow, was handed an 18-month consecutive sentence in addition to an earlier sentence.

A West Midlands Police spokesperson said: “We do not underestimate the impact this crime has on people’s lives and are working hard to bring these offenders to justice.

“We know the huge inconvenience of vehicle crime on your livelihoods, and personal lives, which is why we’re determined to take this action. With the support of the public we can continue to tackle car crime and shut down chop shops which act as a market for car thieves.”