SEVEN members of an organised vehicle theft crime group jailed for a total of more than 33 years.

Thanks to the work of theSerious and Organised Crime Unit, 7 men have been jailed for a total of 33 years and 8 months years for their part in a money laundering operation.

The investigation into an organised crime group (OCG) who conspired to steal and dismantle vehicles for sale within the UK and abroad commenced in February 2024, the total value of which has been estimated as more than £2.8 million.

The OCG stole high value vehicles including Land Rovers, Range Rovers, BMWs, Jaguars and Toyota Hilux cars from across the country, London and Essex before taking them to a rented unit in Braintree, Essex, where they were dismantled and stripped of parts before being loaded into vans for transportation within the UK or containers destined for abroad.

In May last year, one container was intercepted by Essex Police officers who identified and removed parts of seven high-value vehicles. It was allowed to continue its journey, but when it arrived at Dubai, one of the men who had flown out to meet it, found only an empty container.

Then, on Thursday 27 June 2024, officers from Essex and Kent’s Serious Crime Directorate (SCD) led teams from across the force, including Operational Support Group, Dog Unit and Neighbourhood Policing Teams, in conducting eight early morning warrants.

As part of the co-ordinated strikes, Waheed Yousef (OCG leader) was arrested at his home address in Ilford. Mohammed Bukhari (who transported parts of stolen vehicles) was arrested in Luton and Stanley Van Der Berg (who delivered the stolen vehicles) was arrested in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire.

The investigation into the OCG’s activities continued and on Monday 21 July 2024, three members of the OCG who worked together dismantling the cars at the Braintree premises were arrested in Warwickshire – Davit Nakashidze, George Abzhandadze and Revaz Mumladze.

Two more members of the OCG were arrested in the following weeks. A tracker activation on a stolen vehicle led officers to Nazeing where Lukas Meskauskas was arrested as he worked on the same car (August 2024) and Michael Casey was arrested in September 2024.

Now, following the lengthy, pain-staking investigation that saw officers spend months reviewing CCTV footage and mobile phone messages detailing their plans, the OCG members have been jailed for a total of more than 33 years.

Three OCG members who pleaded guilty to one charge of conspiring to convert criminal property were jailed for a total of more than 15 years’ imprisonment at Chelmsford Crown Court on Thursday 19 June.

• Waheed Yousef, 29 of Stanhope Gardens, Ilford, was jailed for 6 years and 1 month
• Mohammed Bukhari, 28 yrs of Connaught Road, Luton was sentenced to 4 years and 7 months
• Stanley Van Der Berg, 25, Hepburn Court, Station Road, Borehamwood was jailed for 4 years and 8 months

Four men, part of the OCG, who were similarly charged with conspiring to convert criminal property, were sentenced at an earlier hearing at the same court.

On Thursday 22 May, the following defendants, were sentenced to a total of over 18 years in jail having pleaded guilty.

• Lukas Meskauskas, 29, formerly of The Hides, Harlow – was jailed for 5 years
• Both Revaz Mumladze, 42, and George Abzhandadze, 51, were each jailed for 4 years and 5 months. Both men were of no fixed abode
• Davit Nakashidze, 46, no fixed abode – was also sentenced to 4 years and 6 months

An eighth person, Brentwood man Michael Casey, 24, was found guilty of the same charge in his absence at a court hearing at Chelmsford Crown court on Friday 14 March this year.
At the same sentencing hearing as Yousef, Bukhari and Van Der Berg on Thursday 19 June, Michael Casey was sentenced to 2 years and 8 months’ imprisonment in his absence. A warrant for his arrest remains outstanding.

This brings the total sentence to 36 years and 4 months for the eight men.

Detective Chief Inspector Justin Beacher, Serious Crime Directorate, said; “Car theft is not a victimless crime. It’s a force priority because we know of the devastating effect it can have.

“As in this case, we’ll continue to dismantle the organised criminal groups behind car thefts by identifying the people, patterns of offending and the places involved in these crimes and work with colleagues in other forces, showing that we will stop at nothing to tackle this issue.

“Today’s judgement is testament to the dedicated work of the Serious and Organised Crime Unit and colleagues from across the force who have worked long and hard to bring these men to justice.”

“We’d ask our communities to tell us who is involved in car crime in their area – that way we can work together to achieve results such as this.”