Three men have been jailed for their part in a series of vehicle thefts in North East Lincolnshire in 2019.
Jonathan Bratley, 33, of The Cliff, Scunthorpe, Christopher Smith, 31, of Lock Road, Louth, Shaun Thomas Smith, 32, of Manby, Louth, and John Smith, 21, of no fixed abode, all pleaded guilty to multiple counts of theft of a motor vehicle.
All four were sentenced at Grimsby Crown Court on Wednesday 9th November.
Jonathan Bratley was sentenced to three years and six months, Christopher Smith was given a sentence of three years and nine months, Shaun Thomas Smith was sentenced to one year and three months in jail, while John Smith was handed a nine-month suspended sentence.
During November and December 2019, a total of 11 vehicles worth in excess of £240,000 were stolen from compounds in Stallingborough, Immingham and Grimsby.
John Smith was arrested after an officer from Lincolnshire Police spotted a suspect vehicle near Gainsborough. Shaun Thomas Smith was arrested after a road traffic collision on the M1 in South Yorkshire.
On New Year’s Eve 2019, Christopher Smith and Jonathan Bratley were arrested after being stopped by officers in North Lincolnshire whilst driving a car suspected of being on cloned number plates.
DC Andy Taylor said: “I am pleased with the sentences handed out to the members of this group, and I am glad they are behind bars where they belong.
“We are committed to taking down those involved in organised crime and we will always thoroughly investigate any type of criminality associated with them. These groups are a blight on our society those responsible will be dealt with and brought to justice.
“We will continue do everything we can to cause disruption to criminals who think it is okay to carry out crimes of this nature.”
