A BROMSGROVE man has been convicted for his part in a series of gang raids on cash machines at banks and shops across the country.
Noel Reilly, aged 46, of Appletrees Crescent, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to burgle, handle stolen goods and possess criminal property.
He was one of five people facing jail time after the nine incidents which yielded the raiders almost £700,000.
The gang used specialist equipment including angle grinders and the jaws of life, which are used by firefighters to rescue people trapped in cars, in the spree lasting nearly a year.
They chose stolen high-performance cars, using multiple fake number plates each time, to aid their getaways.
The gang even used a flatbed truck, which was reinforced so it could be rammed into the businesses.
The gang struck in police areas including West Mercia, Leicestershire, Avon and Somerset, Bedfordshire, Greater Manchester, Cumbria, Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire and Staffordshire.
West Midlands Police’s Major Crime Unit began a hunt for the gang after linking the crimes around the country, identifying they were based in the West Midlands. Taking ownership of the investigation, the unit worked closely with other national forces to piece the evidence together.
The gang’s downfall came when they booked out two holiday lets in Cumbria to act as a base of operations while they struck in the county on three consecutive days, from August 11 last year.
They forced open cash machines at three shops, stealing more than £128,000 in the process, using a stolen Audi as the getaway vehicle.
But a police officer spotted the gang’s stolen Audi being transported on a low loader back to the Midlands.
The transporter was stopped and the driver Daniel Hickenbottom was arrested. His job was to transport the stolen vehicles before and after the crimes on a low loader to avoid detection.
A major investigation followed and identified the rest of the gang, through analysis of CCTV, mobile phone records, WhatsApp voice recordings and forensic examinations including fingerprints and DNA.
Reilly, Craig Howell and Simon Pagett would plan and carry out the raids, buying clothing to wear on the break-ins and arriving in stolen cars with the right tools to break into the cash machines.
During the investigation, officers recovered a WhatsApp audio recording from Reilly, boasting police had no ‘concrete evidence’ against the gang. Then, 11 days later, police launched dawn raids to arrest him and other gang members.
Oliver Matthews was the owner of Bloxwich Resprays, where the gang would store their stolen vehicles and use as a base. He would drive around the country after crimes to assist the gang.
The other convictions
After a trial lasting more than a two months at Wolverhampton Crown Court the five either pleaded guilty or were convicted of the charges they faced.
Simon Pagett, aged 43, of Dartford Road, Bloxwich pleaded guilty to conspiracy to burgle, handling stolen goods and possessing criminal property.
Oliver Matthews, 39, of Baneberry Drive, Featherstone pleaded guilty to conspiracy to burgle.
Craig Howell, 44, of Hatfield Drive, Wolverhampton, was convicted of conspiracy to burgle, handling stolen goods and possessing criminal property.
Daniel Hickenbottom, 38, of Chantry Avenue, Bloxwich, was convicted of conspiracy to burgle, handle stolen goods and possess
All five will be sentenced later this year.
‘Sophisticated attacks’
Det Sgt Tom Frenchum, from the Major Crime Unit’s Proactive Team, said: “A huge amount of planning and preparation went into these offences and the gang showed a high level of sophistication throughout but our detective worked tirelessly to disrupt them and now put them behind bars.
“The gang had specific roles – some would carry out the ATM attacks, while others would help with the logistics of transporting the stolen vehicles and the specialist cutting equipment.’’
The success is part of Operation Target, the force’s 24/7 efforts to target those involved in serious and organised crime around the West Midlands.
“Our officers work around the clock to target those involved in guns, drugs, money laundering and exploitation.”
