Car gang is jailed over sophisticated £1.1m con

A criminal gang that sold stolen luxury cars in a £1.1 million "highly-sophisticated and well-planned" con was today starting prison sentences totalling 32 years.

Forged paperwork was used to sell 45 vehicles stolen in car key burglaries in places including Cannock, Penkridge and Stafford.

Click on the image on the right to see the other members of the gang.

The scam prompted a two-year-long investigation by three different forces including Staffordshire Police.

Cloned number plates and chassis were added to the cars which included Range Rovers, Mercedes, BMWs and Audis, while fake service stamps and books made them appear above board.

These were then advertised on the internet and many were sold through meetings on pub or hotel car parks.

But the crime only came to light when unwitting new owners tried to register the car with the DVLA.

The car cloning ring netted profits of £400,000 in two years.

Seven men pleaded guilty at Birmingham Crown Court to conspiracy to conceal, disguise or convert criminal property.

Brothers James and John Sheen and Philip and Robert Blair were all jailed yesterday for their part in the con.

Mark Allman, Edward Pines, Christopher Edwards and Paul Candelent were also sentenced.

James Sheen, aged 27, and brother John, 23, both of Shinfield, in Reading, were among the ringleaders. Both were jailed for eight years.

Sentencing them, Judge Murray Creed said: "This was quite plainly a highly-sophisticated and well-planned enterprise involving high value goods with significant gain.

"You were both involved at a higher organisational level."

Philip Blair, aged 32, of Catshill Road, Brownhills, was jailed for five years and six months while brother Robert, aged 23, of Parkside Road, Halesowen, was sentenced to five years and two months.

Christopher Edwards, aged 25, of Vernon Avenue, in Brownhills, was locked up for two years and nine months.

Paul Candelent, aged 31, of Rainscar in Tamworth, was jailed for two years and six months, while Edward Pines, aged 46, of Marsh Farm, Luton, received a one-year suspended sentence for his part.

Skip lorry driver Mark Allman, aged 47, formerly of Bolton Way, Bloxwich, was given a one-year suspended sentence after admitting a charge of money laundering.

He had allowed his bank account to be used to deposit money and pay to advertise cars in Autotrader.

Staffordshire Police today welcomed the verdict.

Speaking after the case Dc Alan Mann said: "It's satisfying and it vindicates all the hard work we have put in over two years. The eight-year sentences reflect the seriousness of what has happened.

"A lot of people have lost a lot of money and I think the judge has recognised that with the sentence today."

Judge Creed praised police forces in Staffordshire, Yorkshire and Humberside for their part in the investigation.

"I wish to commend the actions of the officers in this case," said the judge.

"It has involved Humberside and Staffordshire police and plainly, from what I have read and the work that was done in preparation for the trial, they deserve to be recognised."

Edwards was also sentenced to nine months for stealing lead from Walsall's oldest church.

Edwards's co-accused Martin Wells, aged 36, of Terry Street, in Dudley, who was in no way connected to the car scam, was also given a 12-month jail term suspended for two years and will carry out 200 hours unpaid work for his part in the theft.

The pair stripped 30m of lead sheeting from the roof of St Matthew's Church, in Walsall town centre.