A BROMSGROVE man was among a gang of thieves who stole nearly £700,000 in a series of raids on cash machines at banks and shops across the country.
All five were handed long prison sentences for their crimes which happened in a multitude of counties.
Among them were West Mercia, Leicestershire, Avon and Somerset, Bedfordshire, Greater Manchester, Cumbria, Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire and Staffordshire.
During a year-long spree, they struck nine times using specialist equipment including angle grinders and the jaws of life, used by firefighters to rescue people trapped in cars, in a spree lasting nearly a year.
They used stolen high-performance cars with a variety of fake number plates in a bid to cover their trucks.
The gang even used a flatbed truck, which was reinforced so that they could ram their way into the businesses.
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 region. The unit worked closely with other national forces piecing the evidence together.
Holiday cottage hideout
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, 2024.
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.
Noel 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, police recovered a WhatsApp audio recording from Reilly, boasting that police had no ‘concrete evidence’ against the gang. Eleven days later, he and other gang members were arrested during a series of dawn raids.
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.
They were convicted last year and sentenced in October, but for legal reasons the sentences handed to the gang can only now be reported.
Those involved
Noel Reilly, aged 46, of Appletrees Crescent, Bromsgrove pleaded guilty to conspiracy to burgle, handling stolen goods and possessing criminal property. He was jailed for eight years and six months.
Craig Howell, 44, of Hatfield Drive, Wolverhampton, was convicted of conspiracy to burgle, handle stolen goods and possess criminal property. He was jailed for 10 years.
Simon Pagett, aged 43, of Dartford Road, Bloxwich pleaded guilty to conspiracy to burgle, handling stolen goods and possessing criminal property. He was also jailed for eight years and six months.
Oliver Matthews, 39, of Baneberry Drive, Featherstone pleaded guilty to conspiracy to burgle. He was jailed for 40 months.
Daniel Hickenbottom, 38, of Chantry Avenue, Bloxwich, was convicted of conspiracy to burgle, handle stolen goods and possessing criminal property. He was jailed for three years and nine months.
‘Massive police operation’
Det Sgt Tom Frenchum, from our 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 detectives 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 full story of how police brought down the gang will feature in an upcoming episode of BBC Two’s Forensics: The Real CSI.
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.
Officers work around the clock to target those involved in guns, drugs, money laundering and exploitation.
