MEMBERS of a gang who stole more than £3million worth of cars led police on a high-speed chase and even fled down a roof as they tried to escape capture.
Footage has shown a series of arrests in what has been West Mercia Police’s biggest ever conspiracy case.
11 men have been sentenced to a combined total of 94 years and eight months for conspiracy to commit burglary and conspiracy to conceal, disguise, transfer or remove criminal property.
A 17-year-old boy was was sentenced separately in January to a detention and training order for 14 months.
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A total of 98 cars were stolen, many of them high-end BMWs, Audis, Land Rovers and Range Rovers, as well as sentimental items, jewellery and cash.
Combined with the damage caused to properties during the burglaries, the total cost of their stealing spree, which took place around the UK, was approximately £3.67million.
Footage has shown the burglars creeping around homes, as terrified victims called the police.
In one clip, a frightened child can be heard crying, while in another, a woman tells the 999-operator that her 93-year-old husband had awoke to find a man going through the doors in his bedroom.
Footage recorded by gang members showed them racing away from scenes at speeds as high as 160mph.
During their year-long investigation, dubbed Operation Flare, police found themselves in a high-speed chase with some of the men, which was captured on body-cam footage.
The car, which had been travelling at 100mph, led police to the middle of nowhere. At one stage, one of the officers reports the car being reverse rammed into the police vehicle multiple times.
Police helicopter footage then captured three people fleeing from the car and running into a wooded area and hiding in a ditch, before being arrested.
A series of body-cam clips, shared by West Mercia Police, showed more of the arrests, including that of Wesley Hunt, 49 of no fixed abode, who attempted to flee down a roof.
