Scunthorpe gang jailed over £1.2m 'chop shop' racket

Tomas Bruzikas, Kantrimas Zukauskas and Lukas Voveris were jailed for between five and a half and seven and a half years

A gang who ran a £1.2m "chop shop" stealing expensive cars to strip down and sell on overseas have been jailed.

Humberside Police said the nine men operated a "sophisticated organised crime group" using keyless cloning devices to steal dozens of vehicles.

Officers uncovered seven separate sites across North Lincolnshire where the cars were taken to be dismantled.

The force said at one stage the gang "couldn't dismantle the cars as quick as they were stealing them".

The nine men were jailed at Grimsby Crown Court for between three and seven years.

Many of the vehicles had been broken down so police were unable to return them to their owners

The court was told the first chop shop was uncovered by police in August 2020 on Hebden Road in Scunthorpe, prompting a large investigation.

Six further chop shops were found across North Lincolnshire, all of which had numerous vehicles in various dismantled states and a stack of car parts.

Det Insp Mick Keech said when car part dealers legitimately, they either keep or sell the parts.

"However, in this case, due to the vast volume of vehicles the gang were stealing at such a fast pace, they couldn't dismantle the cars as quick as they were stealing them, and often parts were just being thrown away," he said.

Police were able to identify 72 stolen vehicles, including brand new and high-end vehicles such as Land Rovers, Jaguars and BMWs.

Guntars Dubrenieks, Lucas Lidzius and Charlie Rhodes were sentenced to between five years and seven months and four and a half years

Giedrius Eimutis, Darren Watson and Sarunas Eidininkas were sentenced to between two years and 10 months and four years

They said 17 of the vehicles had been stolen from the Pocklington area and were linked to burglaries.

Mr Keech said: "Not only did they violate their privacy by taking people's vehicles from their homes, they also took away the ability for people to go about their daily lives, leaving many without their main form of transport, not to mention financial repercussions."

The men jailed were:

• Tomas Bruzikas, 34, of Hiles Avenue, Scunthorpe, jailed for seven years and six months for conspiracy to handle stolen goods and converting criminal property.

• Kantrimas Zukauskas, 44 of Wincolmlee, Hull jailed for seven years for conspiracy to handle stolen goods and converting criminal property.

• Lukas Voveris, 30, of Spencer Avenue, Scunthorpe, jailed for five years and six months for conspiracy to handle stolen goods and converting criminal property.

• Guntars Dubrenieks, 30, of Wells Street, Scunthorpe jailed for five years and seven months for conspiracy to handle stolen goods and converting criminal property.

• Lucas Lidzius, 29, of Ripon Close, Scunthorpe, jailed for five years and three months for conspiracy to handle stolen goods and converting criminal property.

• Charlie Rhodes, 25, of Orchard Close, Scunthorpe jailed for four and a half years for conspiracy to steal a motor vehicle and converting criminal property.

• Giedrius Eimutis, 46, of Mulgrave Street, Scunthorpe jailed for four years for conspiracy to handle stolen goods and converting criminal property.

• Darren Watson, 27, of Queensway, Scunthorpe jailed for three years for conspiracy to steal a motor vehicle and possession of cannabis.

• Sarunas Eidininkas, 27, of Somerby Road, Scunthorpe jailed for two years and ten months for conspiracy to handle stolen goods and converting criminal property.