Gang sentenced over vehicle “chop shop” in Surrey

Five men have been sentenced to a total of five years for their roles in running a vehicle “chop shop” in Surrey with the stolen vehicles and parts estimated to be worth around £750,000.

High-value cars, including Porsches, Mercedes and BMWs were stolen from various parts of the UK by thieves wearing gloves and facemasks and using a device that fools a car into thinking the key is close by.

The licence plates were then changed, and the cars were driven to a remote farm site near Dunsfold Aerodrome. The vehicles were dismantled on site and loaded into vans and taken to a location in Sawtry, Cambridgeshire. When the police executed a warrant at the Surrey site, they found vehicles and parts.

Automatic Number Plate Recognition cameras were used to identify vehicles of the same make and model near to where the thefts occurred, but with different licence plates. They were then seen entering the site in Surrey before being taken away on a transport vehicle.

A further “chop shop” was operating in Chertsey, where police found more parts from stolen vehicles, which had been acquired by one of the defendants, Deividas Jakaitis.

Samantha Mitchell from the Crown Prosecution Service said: “This gang were highly professional, targeting high-value cars and leaving limited forensic evidence. They thought that by changing number plates on the vehicles as soon as they had been stolen would help them to evade justice, but they were wrong.

“Thanks to a detailed police investigation and the use of Automatic Number Plate Recognition cameras to track the cars, the police were able to identify vehicles of the same make and model, all of which made their way to the “chop shop” in Surrey.

“Our strong working relationship with Surrey Police and the dedication of the officers involved enabled us to put together such a strong case that all of the gang eventually chose to plead guilty.”