Multi-million pound IT heist foiled
Published: 03 Jul 2006 16:05 BST
Seven men were jailed on Monday after attempting to steal millions of pounds worth of computer equipment.
Members of the Metropolitan Police's Flying Squad, working alongside firearms units from the Metropolitan Police and Gloucestershire Police, arrested seven men on Christmas Eve as they attempted to steal high-value Cisco Systems equipment from a Comstor UK warehouse in Cirencester.
Cisco is best known for selling network-routing equipment, while Comstor is a Cisco reseller.
"These were Cisco Systems — high value systems for industry," a Metropolitan Police spokeswoman told ZDNet UK.
The gang of seven were sentenced at Harrow Crown Court after earlier pleading guilty to their roles in the attempted heist.
The defendants had travelled from London to Cirencester on a number of occasions to observe the Comstor warehouse, according to the Metropolitan Police. On 24 December, 2005, they returned to the site, travelling in two stolen cars and two vans, and armed with coshes, ammonia, heavy-duty tape and handcuffs. Armed officers intervened before they entered the premises, and arrested the gang. The group were all charged with conspiracy to rob on 25 December.
"Around £26m worth of computer equipment was in the warehouse on 24 December. Examination of the two vans indicated that they would have been able to carry approximately £4.5m worth of equipment," said the Metropolitan Police in a statement.
Police believe the group intended to sell the equipment on for millions of pounds, but declined to comment on which channels the gang intended to use. The Metropolitan Police said IT equipment was often targeted by criminals due to its relatively high resale value.
"Computers are high-value items, so they are often targeted," the spokeswoman said.
Detective Superintendent Barry Phillips, the head of the Flying Squad, said: "This was a classic Flying Squad operation, which shows our ability not only to combat robberies in the capital but also to work closely with other forces in order to prevent serious criminals targeting businesses in other parts of the country."
Two of the men pleaded guilty to conspiracy to rob, while the other five pleaded guilty to the lesser offence of conspiracy to burglary. They received sentences ranging from three-and-a-half years to seven years.
One of the men was sentenced to an extra two-and-a-half years for perverting the course of justice, after offering a Flying Squad officer £50,000 to sabotage the prosecution against him.
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