A gang of thieves who stole nearly £700,000 in a series of raids on cash machines at banks and shops across the country - including West Mercia - have been handed lengthy prison sentences.
They struck nine times using specialist equipment, including angle grinders and the jaws of life, which are used by firefighters to rescue people trapped in cars, in a spree lasting nearly a year.
They chose stolen high-performance cars, using multiple fake number plates each time, to use in their getaways.
The gang even used a flatbed truck, which was reinforced so that they could ram their way into the businesses.
The gang struck in police areas including West Mercia, Leicestershire, Avon and Somerset, Bedfordshire, Greater Manchester, Cumbria, Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire and Staffordshire.
The Major Crime Unit at West Midlands Police began a hunt for the gang after they linked the crimes around the country, identifying that they were based in the West Midlands.
Leading on the investigation, the unit worked closely with other national forces piecing the evidence together.
The gang’s downfall came when they booked out two holiday lets in Cumbria to act as a base of operations while they struck in the county on three consecutive days, from August 11, 2024.
They forced open cash machines at three shops, stealing more than £128,000 in the process, using a stolen Audi as the getaway vehicle, but a police officer spotted the gang’s stolen Audi being transported on a low loader back to the Midlands.
The transporter was stopped and the driver Daniel Hickenbottom was arrested.
His job was to transport the stolen vehicles before and after the crimes on a low loader to avoid detection.
A major investigation followed and identified the rest of the gang, through analysis of CCTV, mobile phone records, WhatsApp voice recordings and forensic examinations including fingerprints and DNA.
Noel Reilly, Craig Howell and Simon Pagett would plan and carry out the raids, buying clothing to wear on the break ins and arriving in stolen cars with the right tools to break into the cash machines.
During the investigation, officers recovered a WhatsApp audio recording from Reilly, boasting that police had no 'concrete evidence' against the gang.
Eleven days later, they launched dawn raids to arrest him and other gang members.
Oliver Matthews was the owner of Bloxwich Resprays, where the gang would store their stolen vehicles and use as a base.
He would drive around the country after crimes to assist the gang.
They were convicted last year and sentenced in October, but for legal reasons, the sentences handed to the gang can only now be reported.
Craig Howell, aged 44, of Hatfield Drive, Wolverhampton, was convicted of conspiracy to burgle, handle stolen goods and possess criminal property. He was jailed for 10 years.
Noel Reilly, aged 46, of Appletrees Crescent, Bromsgrove, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to burgle, handling stolen goods and possessing criminal property. He was jailed for eight years and six months.
Simon Pagett, aged 43, of Dartford Road, Bloxwich, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to burgle, handling stolen goods and possessing criminal property. He was also jailed for eight years and six months.
Oliver Matthews, aged 39, of Baneberry Drive, Featherstone, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to burgle. He was jailed for 40 months.
Daniel Hickenbottom, aged 38, of Chantry Avenue, Bloxwich, was convicted of conspiracy to burgle, handle stolen goods and possessing criminal property.
He was jailed for three years and nine months.
Det Sgt Tom Frenchum, from the Major Crime Unit’s Proactive Team, said: "A huge amount of planning and preparation went into these offences and the gang showed a high level of sophistication throughout, but our detectives worked tirelessly to disrupt them and now put them behind bars.
"The gang had specific roles – some would carry out the ATM attacks, while others would help with the logistics of transporting the stolen vehicles and the specialist cutting equipment."
The full story of how we brought down the gang will feature in an upcoming episode of BBC Two’s Forensics: The Real CSI.
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