Droitwich man jailed for role in theft of BMWs and Dell laptops

Matthew Wilkes, 31, is one of three men to be sentenced following a lengthy investigation carried out by West Midlands Police.

Wilkes, of Willows House, has been handed six years for conspiracy to steal BMWs and six years for conspiracy to steal HGVs and trailers, with the sentences to be served concurrently.

Throughout 2019 and 2020, Wilkes worked with Alan Edwards and Conrad Pearce to steal seven BMW cars valued at £336,000 from dealerships and sales forecourts across the country, including in Worcester and London.

Alan Edwards has been jailed for four years (Image: West Midlands Police)

The trio also stole ten HGV trailers laden with goods such as household appliances and medical supplies worth a total of £1million from transport hubs across Birmingham, Suffolk, the East Midlands, Leicestershire and Merseyside.

Using a stolen HGV cab on false plates which they regularly changed to avoid detection, the gang hooked up the trailers before driving them away to a secure location.

In one of their crimes, a trailer containing Dell Chrome books worth more than £500,000 was stolen.

The laptops had been purchased using government funding during the pandemic and were to be given to underprivileged children.

West Midland Police’s CID Priorities Team were able to link the offences and the thieves to the crimes, leading to their arrest in March 2021.

Police searched their homes and found sophisticated tech including scanners, key cloning equipment, and tracker and tracer radios to track vehicles and block communication signals.

They also found large quantities of cash, sets of registration plates, mobile phones used as a burner or clean phones, and counting machines.

Footage found on Wilkes’ phone showed him filming himself stealing a BMW.

Conrad Pearce was jailed for two years four months for his role in the thefts (Image: West Midlands Police)

The officer who led the investigation, detective constable Mark Plant, said: “The offences took place nationally from as far afield as Liverpool, London, Southampton and Ipswich.

“With vehicle crime recognised as a police priority, we uncovered a sophisticated operation with only one of the stolen BMWs ever being recovered.

“The loss of contracts to the victims and huge insurance losses only further burdens the transport industry which ultimately results in higher prices for consumers.

“Hopefully with the three thieves now serving prison sentences, the victims can feel a little bit of justice has been served.”

Having been held in prison whilst they awaited the trial, the trio were convicted at Birmingham Crown Court on December 19.

Edwards, 39 and of Portland Drive in Tividale, was jailed for four years for conspiracy to steal BMWs and four years for conspiracy to steal HGVs, with the sentences to be served concurrently.

Meanwhile, Pearce, 25 and of Keats Road in Wolverhampton, was jailed for two years and four months for conspiracy to steal HGVs and trailers.