A gang used a “Gameboy” to steal $2.7 million worth of cars – including one with 3-year-old boy still inside.
The “sophisticated” gang unlocked victims’ cars with a keyless device disguised as a Gameboy across North London within seconds – and even drove off a victim’s toddler still in the seat.
Police said the gang had hit the pockets of over 170 victims over four years, including those who bought cars not realizing they were stolen and didn’t receive any compensation.
An extensive, two-year investigation by the Met Police eventually brought five members of the gang to justice, including leaders Alfie Brown, 31, and Andre Clarke, 33.
The pair have now been jailed for more than five and four years respectively, while their accomplices avoided immediate prison terms with suspended sentences.
The Met’s investigation began in January 2022, when officers discovered that a series of car thefts in North London were linked.
Vehicles were stolen by the gang in Barnet, Enfield, Haringey, Redbridge, Waltham Forest, Barking and Dagenham, Havering and Newham using a device that allowed them to open and start targeted cars within seconds and looked no different from a person opening the car with a key.
Investigating officers found $2.67 million worth of cars had been stolen by the group between October 2018 and December 2022, with evidence gathered with the help of police forces across the UK and stolen vehicles being recovered from as far afield as Scotland and Wales.
Officers uncovered the identities of those involved and executed 20 warrants in February 2023.
Brown and Clarke, both of North London, were identified as lead figures of the network along with another man, with officers discovering that each of them had been involved in the theft, cloning or sale of each vehicle.
In May 2021, the pair was linked to the theft of a Volvo in Chigwell, Essex, which was stolen while the owner’s 3-year-old child was still inside.
Once the pair noticed their extra passenger they came to a sudden halt, which left the child with minor injuries, before abandoning the car with the child still inside.
Officers established that potential buyers would meet Brown or Clarke, who posed as professional car dealers and would even provide fake invoices and service history documents.
These sales also uncovered the extensive network of money launderers used by the group.
Extensive financial analysis revealed that Clarke had even set up a business account called ‘ACC Motors LTD’ to receive payments from victims or launderers.
David Burvill, a 36-year-old of Leigh-on-Sea in Essex, and Mark Preece, 30, of Romford in East London, then assisted the group by laundering $103,485 from the sale of the stolen cars.
The group was able to evade detection for so long by cloning number plates and vehicle log documents, which made the selling of the vehicles appear even more legitimate.
The clones were convincing enough that the group were even able to sell the vehicles to car dealers.
Marcin Gorecki, a 40-year-old employed at British Car Auction, was found to be the network’s longest launderer who once assisted in selling a Jaguar which had been exchanged for a stolen vehicle with cloned plates to a car dealership in Essex in 2019.
Detective Constable Dave Van Der Valk, from the Met’s Specialist Crime North team who led the investigation, said there were more than 170 victims of the gang’s ‘heartless’ behavior.
He explained: “There were two layers of victims in this case – those who had their cars stolen and those who bought the stolen cars.
“Those who bought the stolen cars without realizing were truly the most affected, as they did not receive any compensation from insurance companies, which meant there were 170 victims affected by the heartless behavior of the group.
“This verdict, and lengthy two-year investigation that led to it, demonstrate that we’ll leave no stone unturned in our pursuit to catch criminals who look to enjoy the proceeds of illicit funds – no matter how complex the case.”
Brown and Clarke were convicted of conspiracy to steal a motor vehicle and conspiracy to possess/acquire criminal property between October 2018 and December 2022.
They were jailed at Snaresbrook Crown Court for five-and-a-half and four years and three months respectively.
Gorecki, of Waltham Cross in North London, was given a two-year suspended sentence for conspiracy to possess/acquire criminal property during the same period.
Preece was handed a nine-month suspended sentence and Burvill an 11-month suspended sentence for conspiracy to possess/acquire criminal property during the same period.
