A GANG of vehicle thieves who targeted houses in Coventry, Solihull and Warwickshire before bragging about their crimes on TikTok have been jailed.
The group of six, made up of four men and two teenagers, stole 45 vehicles worth over £1 million, broadcasting their crimes on TikTok.
Between March 2022 and May 2023 the thieves stole keys to high-value cars like BMWs, Audis and Mercedes, targeting houses in Solihull, Coventry, Warwickshire, Birmingham, and Stourbridge.
The group, all from Birmingham, filmed their crimes and posted them on social media sites.
When officers examined their phones they found recordings of the burglaries being committed, videos of the cars stolen, and internet searches of their registration numbers to get their value.
In one TikTok video, posted in February 2023, the group were wearing masks and breaking into a property before stealing a Hyundai and then posting a video of hitting speeds over 100mph.
The thieves went equipped with weapons and at a burglary in Kings Norton in October 2022 threatened the homeowner saying they’d stab him if he didn’t hand over his car keys.
Two of the gang, both 16 years old at the time, were arrested in May 2023 after someone reported a car and those inside it acting suspiciously on Groveley Lane in Birmingham.
When the car was searched they found pepper spray, balaclavas and another set of car keys belonging to a stolen BMW.
The gang were eventually arrested the following month.
Mobile phones were seized and when examined were found to be
filled with videos of the gang at the burglary scenes and driving the stolen vehicles at over 100 mph along residential roads.
One of the gang, Josh Reid, was found to have a distinctive tattoo on his left hand that matched TikTok videos he’d filmed of himself.
They all pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit burglary and were sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court on Monday, September 25.
Reid, aged 25, was sentenced to four years and six months, while Cody Morgan, also 25, was jailed for three years and four months.
Connor O’Keefe-Clancy, aged 19, was sentenced to five years while Ryan Allen, aged 21, got four years and three months.
One boy, aged 16 was sentenced to four years and six months, and a second teenager also aged 16 received a two-year Youth Rehabilitation Order and will be tagged for one year receiving an overnight curfew.
