Criminal car theft gang use Gameboy device to steal 80 vehicles worth £1.8million

CCTV captured the moment when a car thief broke into a parked vehicle, using a keyless theft device disguised as a 'Gameboy'. The device allowed the crooks to quickly open vehicles and start them in seconds, making them look no different from a person opening the car with a key.

Through data analysis and intelligence, officers discovered £2 million worth of cars had been stolen by the group of five men between October 2018 and December 2022. The group were sentenced to a total of 13 years and five months between them.

Detective Constable Dave Van Der Valk, from the Met’s Specialist Crime North team who led the investigation, said: “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.”

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.

Car stolen with child inside

This led to the identification of Alfie Brown, 31 (07.09.93), of Aberdeen Road, Edmonton, and Andre Clarke, 33 (28.02.91), of Beehive Road, EN7, as lead figures of the network along with another man, with each of them involved in the theft, cloning or sale of each vehicle.

In May 2021, Brown and Clarke were linked to the theft of a Volvo in the Chigwell area. The vehicle was stolen while the owner’s three-year-old-child was still inside. When the pair realised what they had done they came to a sudden stop which left the child with minor injuries. They subsequently abandoned the car with the child still inside.

Fake invoices and service history documents

Officer’s established that the purchasers would meet Brown or Clarke when purchasing the vehicles and pretended to be car dealers, even providing fake invoices and service history documents. These sales also uncovered the extensive network of money launderers used by the group.

Through extensive financial analysis officers found that Clarke even set up a business account called ‘ACC Motors LTD’ to receive payments from victims or launderers.

Cloned number plates

David Burvill, 36 (10.09.88), of Eastwood Rise, Leigh-on-Sea, and Mark Preece, 30 (10.06.94), of Shakespeare Road, Romford, then assisted the group by laundering £78,000 from the sale of the stolen cars. The group were able to evade detection for so long by successfully cloning number plates and vehicle log documents, committing fraud against the DVLA, 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, 40 (11.01.84), of Eleanor Way, Waltham Cross, who was employed at British Car Auction was found to be the networks longest launderer. He assisted in selling a Jaguar which had been exchanged for a stolen vehicle with cloned plates to a car dealership in Essex in 2019.

Advice when buying a car

If looking to take part in a private vehicle sale there are numerous ways in which to reduce or remove the risk of purchasing a stolen vehicle:

Meeting at public locations i.e. Car Dealerships. If you have any concerns about the vehicle, staff at these locations can assist or provide advice.

Check the electronic VIN stored on the infotainment unit or by using OBD diagnostic kits. These cannot be changed without replacing the unit. Staff car dealerships would be able to assist with this.

Purchasers should ask Sellers to provide photo ID (record it), there is no reason this would be of concern in a legitimate sale.

Never pay in cash, there are no legitimate reasons sellers should insist on this method of payment. If the vehicle was advertised through a selling website then payment should be made through the site as they provide customer protection. It should be of concern if a seller insists on payment directly to an account provided. In other situations, ensure the account receiving payment matches the photo ID provided.

Purchasers should still check the V5 document, VIN numbers and conduct HPI checks.