A Leigh man who was part of a keyless car theft gang has been given a suspended sentence after police uncovered the sophisticated organised crime network.

The Met Police launched an investigation in North London after numerous cars were stolen using a keyless theft device disguised as a "Gameboy".

The thefts could take seconds and looked no different from a person opening the car with a key.

Officers discovered £2 million worth of cars had been stolen by the group between October 2018 and December 2022.

Five men were sentenced at Snaresbrook Crown Court on Friday, for a range of vehicle theft offences.

This included David Burvill, 36, of Eastwood Rise, Leigh, who assisted the group by laundering £78,000 from the sale of the stolen cars.

Det Con Dave Van Der Valk, from the Met’s Specialist Crime North team who led the investigation, said: “Thanks to the hard work and perseverance of highly skilled officers in the Met, we have been able to disrupt a sophisticated crime operation.

“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 realising 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 behaviour 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.”  

The investigation into the group first began in January 2022 when officers discovered that a series of car thefts in North London were linked.

Working closely with other specialist officers in the Met and the DVLA, officers were able to uncover the identities of the individuals involved. They then executed 20 warrants in February 2023.

Evidence was gathered with the help of police services around the UK - with vehicles being recovered as far afield as Scotland and Wales - and the true extent of the offending that had taken place was uncovered.

Alfie Brown, 31, of Aberdeen Road, Edmonton, was sentenced to five-and-a-half years for conspiracy to steal a motor vehicle and conspiracy to possess/ acquire criminal property.

Andre Clarke, 33, of Beehive Road, Waltham Cross, was sentenced to four years and three months for conspiracy to steal a motor vehicle and conspiracy to possess/ acquire criminal property.

Marcin Gorecki, 40, of Eleanor Way, Waltham Cross, was given a two-year suspended sentence for conspiracy to possess/ acquire criminal property.

Mark Preece, 30, of Shakespeare Road, Romford, was given a nine-month sentence suspended for 12 months, for conspiracy to possess/ acquire criminal property.

David Burvill, 36, of Eastwood Rise, Leigh-on-Sea, was given an 11-month sentence suspended for 15 months, for conspiracy to possess/ acquire criminal property.