How Fife detectives brought gangs behind 15-month 'car-theft epidemic' to justice

A detective who helped bring down crime gangs behind for a ‘car-theft’ epidemic in Fife has lifted the lid on how police brought the thieves to justice.

Dozens of cars were stolen from driveways and homes across the region between August 2022 and November 2023.

Thieves used electronic key coding devices – available online for as little as £200 – to target cars with keyless ignition.

By bypassing vehicle locking and ignition systems, motors were stolen in as little as 40 seconds.

Operation Enzone

The spike in thefts triggered Fife police to set up a dedicated unit as part of Operation Enzone, a national police initiative to combat a rise in keyless car thefts across Scotland.

Detective Constable Chris Stecka was one of the detectives who helped bring several key criminals to justice.

Speaking exclusively to The Courier, he described the situation facing police as a “car-theft epidemic”.

He added: “Car thefts rose so sharply we were receiving reports of vehicles being stolen on an almost nightly basis.

“Hundreds of vehicle-related thefts, which also included motorbikes, quads and e-scooters, were reported during the investigation which ran from August 2022 and November 2023.

£200 decoder used to bypass ignition

“Initially, it was difficult to detect patterns of behaviour as thefts were so sporadic.

“However, it became apparent quite quickly that keyless ignition vehicles, particularly Ford Fiestas STs, were the target for thieves.”

Painstaking detective work analysing each theft confirmed that the crime wave was down to three main gangs.

“CCTV captured similarities in the modus operandi and characteristics of the individuals at each crime scene,” DC Stecka added.

“We knew vehicles had to be stashed somewhere so we went back to old-fashioned police graft to get a lead.

“Often we’d drive around public car parks, train stations, and the local area in the hope of finding the vehicle hidden in plain sight, and it often worked.

“We also found that the stolen vehicles were frequently used in other crimes such as ‘take-offs’ – filling up the car with petrol before driving off without paying.”

The investigation eventually led detectives to various individuals who were found to be directly involved in many of the thefts.

Storage containers and garages were also raided revealing a stash of car parts from dismantled vehicles ready to be sold on.

‘Car-theft eperdemic’

So far, several men have been brought to justice in Fife as part of Operation Enzone.

Amongst them is 20-year-old Derrin Gunn, who used a coding device to steal cars worth £210,000 in a “meticulously planned” operation.

He pled guilty in March to committing 15 crimes – including stealing 10 vehicles – over five months.

One of the cars was even stolen on Christmas Day.

His highest value theft was a £70,000 silver Range Rover in Windygates, followed by a £35,000 Audi S3 in Crail, and a £33,000 Volkswagen Golf R estate in St Andrews.

Meanwhile, Aiden Paterson, 23, of Kennoway was also locked up for a spate of thefts, including four Ford Fiesta STs.

The cars were stolen from addresses in Glenrothes, Kirkcaldy, Methil and Forfar.

Jordan Watson, 20, from Kelty was also sentenced last month after pleading guilty to 27 charges.

Amongst them were thefts of 16 Ford Fiestas as well as other vehicles stolen in Fife, Broughty Ferry and Blairadam.

He was sentenced to a 200-day curfew and a year of offender supervision.

15-month investigation hailed a success

DC Stecka estimated £380,000 worth of car crime had been committed and investigated during the 15-month investigation.

He also said that £267,000 of that had been recovered.

“The investigation concluded that each car theft was worth around £1,000 to the criminal,” he said.

“However, there is the knock-on value for those distributing the car parts and the subsequent criminality linked to those vehicles.

“Then there is also the emotional trauma to the victim to be accounted for.

“Operation Enzone was a success and has massively reduced the number of car thefts across Fife.

“It has also sent out a message to would-be car thieves that we will investigate them and bring those involved to justice.”