A GANG of thieves who ram raided a petrol station in Emmer Green to steal cash boxes have been jailed.
Three of the four men were arrested on August 19 last year when police officers caught them in the act. They were at the Esso petrol station store – a Tesco Express, having smashed their way in using a Range rover stolen in the Reading area.
A stolen Alpha Romeo was also at the scene.
The raid was one of 14 burglaries and 33 thefts, as well as three attempted burglaries and an attempted theft, that the gang were jailed for.
Police said the offences were committed between November 2021 and August last year in north and west London, Buckinghamshire, Surrey, Hampshire and Berkshire.
In many of the offences, they used stolen high-end vehicles, mainly Sports Utility Vehicles (SUV) such as Range Rovers and Land Rovers, to ram-raid shops, ripping out cash machines, stealing jewellery and cash boxes before driving off.
The gang stole keyless vehicles and used specialist equipment to thwart vehicle tracking equipment. Number plates were also stolen from a range of places including Heathrow airport and Maidenhead and placed on the vehicles to help avoid police detection.
Their thefts included cash boxes worth £3,000 from the Charvil Service Station on New Bath Road in Charvil on August 5 last year.
The Range Rover used in their final theft was stolen from Maidenhead on August 19.
The estimated value of the thefts was more than £1.2 million and the damage caused to vehicles and property estimated at £1.8 million.
The loss of earnings to the business owners forced to shut for repairs totalled almost £1.5 million.
The three arrested on August 19 in Emmer Green were William Connors (29), of Exmouth Road in Hayes; Darren Eastaugh (36), of Bedfont Close, Feltham; and Anthony Rodwell (33), of Laurel Gardens, Ashford in Surrey.
A fourth man, Sebastian Gnyp (37), of Allenby Road, Ealing, was arrested on September 23.
His room was searched and police recovered a device used to block trackers in stolen cars.
At Isleworth Crown Court on Thursday, June 29, Connors and Eastaugh were jailed for six years and six months, Rodwell was jailed for five years and 10 months, and Gynp was jailed for three years.
Detective Constable Pippa Bregazzi, from the Metropolitan Police’s Flying Squad, said: “Footage of the burglaries demonstrates the ruthlessness in which the men used the cars as battering rams to access shops tills and cash machines.
“They had absolutely no thought for the victims of their crimes and it was clear they would have continued to target vehicle owners and shops across the south of England unless they were stopped.
“I am glad they have now been brought to justice and will spend a lengthy time in jail.”
Detective Inspector Ari Yoganathan, Senior Investigating Officer from the Flying Squad, said: “This was an outstanding investigation by a team of detectives determined to arrest and bring to justice a group of men who had caused misery to vehicle and business owners across London and the Home Counties.
“Thankfully no members of the public were injured during any of these offences, but millions of pounds worth of damage and lost earnings were caused by this crime spree.
“Our officers collaborated with colleagues from other police forces and were supported by our partners in the vehicle industry to disrupt this dangerous and disruptive Organised Crime Group.”
