Police warning on BMWs theft spree
BMWs worth hundreds of thousands of pounds have been stolen from driveways and car parks in Staffordshire in the past six months – continuing a spate of thefts in the Midlands since the start of the year.
Since the beginning of April, 15 top-of-the-range models, including the X1, X3 and 3 and 5 series, have been taken from locations in Lichfield, Shenstone, Frandley, Fazeley, Burntwood, Little Aston and Tamworth. More than 160 BMW thefts were recorded in the West Midlands and Staffordshire in the first three months of the year.
Police today issued a warning to drivers of the high-performance cars to keep them under lock and key.
The most recent theft was reported at 12.15am last Monday when a white BMW 118 was taken from a drive in Little Aston.
Sgt Rich Morris, from the Lichfield policing team, said: "These are serious crimes and we're asking owners to take sensible precautions to protect their cars. They should keep them in garages wherever possible or use other security devices, such as steering locks, to protect their vehicles."
A 27-year-old Birmingham man was arrested after a BMW M5 was taken from a car park at Drayton Manor Theme Park on July 21. He remains on police bail pending further inquiries. Investigating officers have revealed they believe organised gangs are using specialist technology to gain access to the cars. They launched a crackdown, deploying specialist "capture cars" with hidden cameras, in a series of sting operations designed to catch crooks red-handed.
The thefts between the start of January and the end of March were in Lichfield, Cannock, Tamworth, Tipton, Warley, Smethwick, Sandwell and the wider West Midlands region. In May this year, an organised crime gang appeared in court after a string of thefts of high-performance cars, mainly BMWs and Audis, across Wolverhampton and South Staffordshire.
Vehicles worth more than £1.2 million were targeted to be either shipped to the Middle East and Africa or cut up for parts.
Operation Teaser was launched in September 2010. A year later, 19 suspects arrested in a string of dawn raids were charged with involvement in the racket after a jigsaw of CCTV, forensic and other evidence was pieced together by a five-strong team of officers and an analyst.
The suspects were linked to 48 offences made up of 44 burglaries and attempted burglaries and four thefts of vehicles. Anyone with information about the thefts should call the police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
