Three men charged over car thefts

Three men have been charged after a series of car thefts across Greater Manchester, Derbyshire and Cheshire.

Craig Holt, 32, of Mill Lane in Denton, has been charged with conspiracy to commit burglary, conspiracy to steal motor vehicles, conspiracy to convert criminal property, fraud by false representation and using a motor vehicle without insurance.

Kieran Maher, 29, of Ellesmere Avenue in Stockport, has been charged with conspiracy to commit burglary, conspiracy to steal motor vehicles and conspiracy to convert criminal property.

Connor Maher, 27, of Spinners Lane in Poynton, has been charged with conspiracy to commit burglary, conspiracy to steal motor vehicles, conspiracy to convert criminal property and using a motor vehicle without insurance.

They have been remanded in custody and will appear at Manchester Magistrates’ Court later today (Thursday). 

The thefts were committed between October last year and April this year. 

Greater Manchester Police carried out raids at four addresses at around 6.30am yesterday morning (Wednesday), including at a property on Mill Lane in Denton. The others were in Poynton, Stockport and Radcliffe. 

The three men were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to steal and conspiracy to convert criminal property. 

The arrests follows Operation Dynamo - an investigation by GMP's Serious and Organised Crime Group into the targeted theft and disposal of high value cars from across the North West.

The operation has focused on a large number of burglaries across Greater Manchester, Cheshire and Derbyshire where houses are targeted in order to steal the keys of vehicles at the address and take the cars.

GMP launched the initiative after vehicle thefts increased across Greater Manchester since 2012, with more than 10,000 vehicles stolen in 2017.

Detective Inspector Joseph Harrop, of GMP's Serious Organised Crime Group, said: "This is a fantastic result where our officers have successfully recovered six suspected stolen vehicles and a large number of stolen car parts from across Greater Manchester as well as approximately £5,000 in cash.

"I am thankful to our team, who have continued with this operation– even in the current, challenging climate which shows our commitment to tackling organised crime and vehicle thefts in Manchester." 

Anyone with information about these car-thefts should contact police on 0161 856 5082 quoting incident number 0299 of 29/04/2020, or the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.