Scots crime gang locked up for part in sophisticated £500,000 car theft spree

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A crime gang were locked up yesterday for their part in a sophisticated £500,000 car theft spree. William Cairns, 36, Mark Busby, 39, and Robert Busby, 40, were jailed for a total of 10 years over the theft of 55 vehicles.They were also slapped with five-year Serious Crime Prevention Orders after targeting cars in 28 Scottish towns, cities and villages.The gang nicked motorhomes, transit vans, SUVs and sports cars – picking locks and using hi-tech equipment.Specialist keys and electronic decoders were used so they could steal vehicles worth more than £500,000.But the technology also helped police snare them as their mobile phones were detected near the location of a number of the thefts.They were also found with hi-tech gadgets when arrested.

The gang, from Johnstone in Renfrewshire, originally faced 125 charges over the thefts of vehicles worth more than £1 million.

At Paisley Sheriff Court, they pled guilty to 66 charges in relation to 55 vehicles and admitted stealing Ford Transit, Kuga, Fiesta and Focus models.

They carried out car raids in Glasgow, Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire, north, south and east Ayrshire, north and south Lanarkshire, east and west Dunbartonshire, and Argyll and Bute.Several thefts were committed in 2020 when Scotland was in lockdown.The gang members admitted their guilt at a previous court appearance and returned to the dock yesterday to be sentenced.Sheriff Tom McCartney told the car thieves: “This was repeated, clandestine and planned.