Man jailed for theft of high-value vehicles

A Luton man who was part of a gang targeting vehicles worth hundreds of thousands of pounds has been jailed after a string of thefts and burglaries.

In just over a month last year Thorin Wrigglesworth was involved in the theft of at least nine high-value cars, including Range Rovers Toyotas and Land Rovers.

He also admitted being involved in another series of car thefts in 2023 including a Jaguar, an Audi A3 and 2 BMW cars.

In October, Wrigglesworth, 20, of Vadis Close, Luton, was arrested, and in his possession he had equipment in line with keyless car thefts.

Detectives from Bedfordshire Police’s specialist residential burglary team, Operation Maze, managed to place his phone at the location of 13 burglaries and thefts, or attempts, at the times the crimes were committed. He had also tried to use stolen bankcards.

Wrigglesworth pleaded guilty to one charge of conspiracy to burgle and one charge of  conspiracy to steal. There were a further 11 offences taken into consideration. A suspended sentence for robbery was also activated.

He was jailed for a total of four years.

Detective Constable Pawel Karpinski said: “Wrigglesworth was part of a gang that was targeting high value vehicles to sell on either overseas or to other criminals. These crimes are well-organised and feed into a wider criminal picture including violence.

“We will continue to do everything we can to disrupt these activities and take these criminals off the streets.

“At the same time, it is a moment for us all to keep thinking about what we can do to make life as difficult as possible for them.

“It is things like keeping doors and windows securely locked; keep keys out of sight and consider using a Faraday pouch if your car is keyless. All of these things will help deter thieves from targeting you.”

There is advice on crime prevention for homes and vehicles on the Bedfordshire Police website.