Keyless car theft gang jailed for stealing luxury motors worth £215K

by · Mail Online

An organised crime gang which plundered luxury vehicles worth more than £215,000 were today starting jail sentences totalling more than 27 years.

The gang targeted high value cars parked at luxury homes in multiple burglaries across Surrey, a judge heard.

In 2023, police identified a series of residential burglaries which could be linked via a distinctive Audi A8 car, which was one of just 15 in the country.

The Audi was then seen at a petrol station with a number plate which didn't match its genuine details.

Soon after, a second car suspected of being linked to the series was identified by a distinctive GB sticker on the back. 

But police still needed to identify the people involved and a complex investigation began using a variety of tactics to uncover the full extent of their crimes.

A spokesman for Surrey Police said on Friday: 'Between June and August 2023, members of the group burgled multiple homes and were also linked to other offences including keyless car theft, where vehicles were taken close to the owners' house or from the front drive.

'Areas targeted included Epsom and Walton-On-Thames in Surrey and Croydon, Chessington, New Malden, Raynes Park and Surbiton in the Metropolitan area.

An organised crime gang which plundered luxury vehicles worth more than £215,000 were today starting jail sentences totalling more than 27 years. Pictured: Criminals changing the plates on a stolen Audi
Police identified a series of residential burglaries which could be linked via the distinctive Audi A8, which was one of just 15 in the country
The gang escalated their activities from targeting luxury cars to breaking into Surrey homes

'They would scope out a target vehicle and either commit a burglary to steal the keys or use illegal devices to gain keyless entry. 

'They would then drive the vehicle away and park it elsewhere for a short time to see if any tracking devices had been activated.

'In the meantime, they would identify similar vehicles which were insured, source illegal fake number plates and fit them to the stolen vehicles to try to evade detection. 

'On some occasions the stolen cars would ultimately end up at 'chop shops', where they were broken up into parts and sold for profit.

'During the burglaries at both residential properties and some shops, they caused thousands of pounds worth of damage and on one occasion, three of the men (Harry Mackay, Rico Persechino and Jason Connors) assaulted the occupier of an address with weapons.

'After gathering a body of evidence, on August 29 2023 police proactively apprehended Rico Persechino and Harry Mackay outside a shop in East Grinstead. 

'Mackay tried to escape by running inside and heading to the staff door but he was swiftly caught. 

'Officers later found a keyless car theft device that he had tried to discard inside the shop.

One of the gang identified by the police as they surveilled the thieves before their arrest
The gang members were also seen breaking into stores during their crime spree in 2023
A photograph released by police shows tools and number plates used during the thefts
One terrifying incident caught on camera shows the gang smashing the glass doors of a house in Surrey in order to gain entry
In another clip, the criminals are seen holding weapons to force entry into a home in Surrey
The gang kicked in the back garden gate of this property before forcibly making their way in

'The police investigation used a variety of tactics including identifying cloned number plates, tracking vehicles through ANPR (automatic number plate recognition) and matching the suspects' descriptions and clothing to CCTV footage.

'Often when committing a burglary at a shop, the group brought a large white carrier bag to carry the stolen goods and a comparison of CCTV footage enabled officers to tie offences to them due to the appearance of this same bag each time.

'One victim of the group's criminal activities said: 'The burglary was very distressing for both my partner and myself, and we felt a significant impact after the unwelcome intrusion from these criminals.

'I was very angry and upset and when I met with detectives the following day, I was close to tears and that's not in my nature. 

'The thought of strangers going through your personal possessions, and the damage they caused to gain access to my property was scary. 

'My partner lost family jewellery that had been passed down through generations.

'After the robbery I said I wanted to move and I still might as this has had a long-term effect on me. 

'I'm pleased to see the sentence this group were handed, and I was very impressed with the brilliant work of the police officers and detectives dealing with this case, they gave me faith throughout.'

Harry Mackay, 34, from Epsom was sentenced to eight years, while Frankie Mackay, 35 and also from Epsom, was sentenced to 39 months
Rico Persechino, 35 and from Kingston-Upon-Thames, was sentenced to seven-and-a-half years while Stevey Mackay, 32, from Kingston-Upon-Thames, was sentenced to 39 months
Jason Connors, 29, from Croydon, admitted conspiracy to commit robbery and was sentenced to five years and four months

Lead investigator, Detective Inspector Daniel Voller, shared: 'This was a sophisticated and organised operation and exposing the full extent of their crimes was only possible thanks to the hard work and diligence of everyone involved, from detectives to intelligence teams.

'These thieves had no regard for anyone but themselves and escalated their offending from stealing cars outside homes to breaking inside and committing a serious assault. 

'We have worked relentlessly over many months to prepare a strong case against them and I'm pleased our efforts have resulted in getting them behind bars.'

Following a trial at Guildford Crown Court brothers Harry, Frankie and Stevey MacKay appeared along with Jason Connors and Rico Persechino for sentencing.

Harry Mackay, 34, from Epsom admitted conspiracy to steal motor vehicles, conspiracy to burgle and conspiracy to commit robbery and was sentenced to eight years.

Frankie Mackay, 35 and also from Epsom, admitted conspiracy to steal motor vehicles and was sentenced to 39 months.

Stevey Mackay, 32, from Kingston-Upon-Thames admitted stealing motor vehicles and was also sentenced to 39 months.

Jason Connors, 29, from Croydon, admitted conspiracy to commit robbery and was sentenced to five years and four months.

Rico Persechino, 35 and from Kingston-Upon-Thames, admitted conspiracy to steal motor vehicles, conspiracy to burgle and conspiracy to commit robbery and was sentenced to seven-and-a-half years.