Leeds gang who carried out nationwide lorry robberies jailed for over 44 years

Thursday, 9 January 2020 10:17

A Leeds gang involved in the organised theft of more than £1.5m of goods from lorries across the country have been jailed for a total of 44 years.

Two of the group, John Kitchen and Kieran Marshall, were also sentenced over a dramatic ram raid at a jeweller in Leeds city centre.

Throughout their crime spree, the gang organised thefts from Heavy Good Vehicles on a large-scale nationally, using a house in Finch Drive, Colton as their base.

In each of the incidents, the vehicles were targeted while the drivers were parked up on rest breaks.

The offenders either slashed open the curtain side of the targeted vehicle or forced the rear doors and unloaded pallets of goods and drove off with them.

On occasion, drivers initially challenged those involved, but feared for their safety when faced with a large group armed with knives and metal bars.

The items stolen by the gang included thousands of pounds worth of alloy wheels, tyres, power tools, hair straighteners, cosmetics, face cream, jewellery and men’s and women’s clothing.

Quantities of the stolen goods were found when officers executed search warrants at addresses, storage containers and other lockups linked to members of the group.

The gang were later arrested and charged with conspiracy to steal from HGVs between November 22, 2017, and May 23, 2018.

Altogether eight gang members, aged between 28 and 33, were sentenced to a combined total of 44 years and seven months in prison, with one member serving a suspended sentence.

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