Crime gang jailed over high value burglaries

Jorge Bravo, Williams Jean-Michel Andres and Jorge Espinoza have been jailed

An "organised crime gang" who targeted homes and took high value items worth more than £37,000 have been jailed.

Jorge Bravo, Jorge Espinoza and Williams Jean-Michel Andres travelled from London to Kent with the intention of breaking into addresses, police said.

As they left the county, they were intercepted by officers who discovered the stolen property inside their vehicle.

The three men were sentenced at Maidstone Crown Court on Thursday.

Kent Police said the gang smashed windows to gain entry to two houses near Maidstone Road, Borough Green and Field Mill Road, Egerton, in November 2022.

They stole expensive watches, wedding and engagement rings, computer tablets, cameras and bank cards.

Other forces were alerted after investigators identified the Ford Focus they had used and they were stopped near Hammersmith by Surrey Police.

All three were arrested and stolen property from the earlier burglaries was found inside the vehicle.

Investigators identified an address all three were using in London and, when it was searched, stolen items from a third burglary in Burton-upon-Trent, Staffordshire, were found.

Detectives proved they had travelled to all three addresses at the time they were targeted, Kent Police said.

Jorge Bravo, 36, of Saltram Crescent, Maida Vale, was charged with three counts of burglary and sentenced to two years and six months in prison.

Jorge Espinoza, 19, of the same address and Williams Jean-Michel Andres, 28, of Tyers Street, Vauxhall, were both charged with two counts of burglary.

Espinoza received a 12 month suspended sentence and Andres was jailed for one year and eight months.

Det Con Josh Littley said: "This was an organised crime gang intent on plundering properties in Kent for expensive items before heading back to London.

"They thought they could travel into the county without detection but some swift investigation allowed colleagues from a neighbouring force to effectively bring them to justice," he added.