Whittlesey crime boss who masterminded £2.4m worth of keyless car thefts jailed along with gang

Valdas Bajorinas (35) of Guildenburgh Crescent, Whittlesey was identified by Leicestershire Police as the boss of the organised crime group.

Messages recovered showed Bajorinas as being involved throughout, including the organisation and training of people involved in the offending.

An extensive investigation carried out by Leicestershire Police identified the group who were targeting high-value keyless entry vehicles including BMWs, Range Rovers and Mercedes AMGs which ranged in value from £20,000 to £130,000 each.

The offences were committed across a number of different force areas with the gang members carrying out different roles to target and steal the vehicles during the early hours of the morning, without using the owner’s key, before driving the vehicles away to be stripped down to parts.

The parts would then either be sold online or transported by lorry out of the UK via ferry port to Lithuania.

But on February 18 2019, when Leicestershire Police officers were called to a report of three Range Rover vehicles being stolen in the Oakham area, an immediate response led to one of the defendants Juozas Paulauskas being arrested near to the scene.

This led to further enquiries and investigation including analysis of CCTV and digital devices which led to other members of the gang being identified. All were arrested and remanded into custody with a significant reduction in keyless thefts of vehicles then being noticed across the region.

In total it was found there were 57 vehicle thefts, which police could prove, that had been committed by members of the gang across 10 police force areas. However, it is believed the scope of the offending stretched far beyond this.

The dedicated investigation within Leicestershire was supported by officers from across the region and saw 61 digital devices examined, including laptops, mobile phones and satellite navigation, as well as 409 exhibits.

This all led to charges being made at Leicester Crown Court on Wednesday (July 14). Four of the defendants were sentenced, with three sentenced previously in January this year. In total, the seven defendants have been sentenced to more than 30 years in prison.

Bajorinas, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to steal and concealing criminal property. He was sentenced today to a total of seven years and two months in prison.

The other members of the group sentenced were:

- Juozas Paulaskas (30) of Smalley Road, Boston. Paulaskas was responsible for employing people, paying, overseeing and identifying work and vehicles for the group to target. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to steal and concealing criminal property and was sentenced to a total of six years and four months.

- Edgaras Balcinas, 29, of Burrows Close, Boston, who was found to be operating at a similar level to Paulaskas. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to steal and was previously sentenced to four years and two months imprisonment.

- Gintaulas Kancevicius, 51, of Church Green Close, Fishtoft, Boston, who rented units where vehicles were found being stripped down into parts and further stolen parts recovered. Kancevicius pleaded guilty to conspiracy to steal and concealing criminal property. He was sentenced today to a total of three years and 10 months.

- Jonas Steponavicius, 22, of Blue Street, Boston, who police found to have driven vehicles which were stolen. Steponavicius pleaded guilty to conspiracy to steal and going equipped to steal. He was previously sentenced to two years and eight months imprisonment.

- Oleg Suchovcov, 27, of Smalley Road, Boston, who police found to have been involved in breaking the stolen vehicles down into parts. He pleaded guilty to concealing criminal property and was previously sentenced to three years and six months imprisonment.

- Justas Urbanavicius, 21, of Powell Street, Boston, who police found was also involved in breaking stolen vehicles down into parts. He pleaded guilty to concealing criminal property and was sentenced today to two years and six months.

Officer in the case, Detective Constable Lucy Chafer said: “This has been an extremely long and complex investigation to bring a gang who were involved in millions of pounds worth of vehicle theft to justice.

“The group had no consideration for their many victims as they targeted high value vehicles and worked in a sophisticated manner to try and avoid being caught. But the determination of the investigating team has ultimately led to them all finally having to face up to their actions in court.

“Organised crime offences remain a priority for us in force and we continue in our work to bring those involved to justice.

“We would advise owners of keyless entry vehicles to take steps to help prevent theft of your vehicle. This includes keeping your key inside a Faraday bag which blocks signals from reaching your key or alternatively keeping it in any metal container to block signal transmission.”