A KEYLESS car thief gang that targeted Heathrow Airport has been jailed after stealing £2.8m of luxury vehicles.
Range Rovers, BMWs, and Mercedes were among 72 cars stolen using keyless technology over a 10-month period between December 2019 and October 2020.
Going after cars on residential streets, driveways, and dealership forecourts across London and the South East, the brazen thieves were able to gain entry to the vehicles and get away in seconds by creating a digital key.
An investigation was launched after a spate of incidents at Heathrow Airport, which found the group was responsible for thefts totalling £2.8m.
During the investigation, gang member Arif Ahmed, 28, of Woodford Green deliberately collided with police cars and rammed an exit barrier to making his escape after stealing a vehicle from a Terminal 5 car park.
Four men were jailed for more than 20 years at Isleworth Crown Court on Friday.
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The lead investigator of the Met's Aviation Policing Command, PC Barry Munnelly, said the men “drove recklessly” and showed “no regard for the safety of the public or police officers."
Four other members of the gang had already been put behind bars earlier in the year.
Dwaine Dixon, 29, from Woodford Green, Essex, was jailed for five years and 11 months for conspiracy to steal, and burglary.
Jordan Murray, 25, from Romford, east London, was jailed for three years and eight months, and disqualified from driving for three years after pleading guilty to conspiracy to steal and two counts of aggravated vehicle taking.
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Zakaria Ahmed, 28, of Woodford Green, was jailed for four years and three months, and disqualified from driving for seven years and seven months after admitting to conspiracy to steal and two counts of aggravated vehicle taking.
Abbas Moobe, 25, of Woodford Green, was jailed for three years and three months, and disqualified from driving for two years and nine months after admitting to conspiracy to steal, and aggravated vehicle taking.
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Chief Superintendent of the operation command unit commander for aviation policing, Ian Howells, praised the "thorough and diligent investigation" which has resulted in a "dangerous criminal network being closed down."
He said: "As well as the widespread theft of vehicles and the distress caused to victims, the manner in which they carried out their offending presented a real danger to the public and I am pleased that they have now been brought to justice."
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