By Owen Hughes

Copyright dailypost

An organised crime gang who carried out a high-value theft spree across rural Gwynedd and Shropshire have been jailed for a combined total of more than 25 years.

At Shrewsbury Crown Court on Monday, 15 September, four men were sentenced for their roles in the three-month conspiracy in North Wales, with another three for similar crimes over the border.

At a separate hearing at Mold Crown Court on September 20 , 2024, four men were also sentenced for handling stolen goods. Members of the organised crime group travelled in and out of Tywyn, Dolgellau and Bala, staying at local caravan and camping sites to plan and carry out thefts of high-value agricultural machinery and property.

Other members would travel to North Wales to collect the stolen items stashed in rural areas, before handing them over to others to sell. In total, 17 offences were carried across Gwynedd over a three-month period from August 2022. Sign up for the North Wales Live newsletter sent twice daily to your inbox

The total value of items stolen, including commercial woodchippers, quad bikes, trailers, Land Rovers, chainsaws, and other high-value gardening equipment, amounted to more than £200,000. Only a small proportion of the property was recovered.

The offences in Gwynedd were part of a wider conspiracy that saw many other incidents committed by the same gang in areas covered by West Mercia Police. It is estimated the organised crime group are responsible for thefts worth between £5million and £10million of agricultural equipment during their crime spree.

The group was eventually thwarted by the North Wales Police Serious and Organised Crime Unit as part of Operation Calafat in March 2023 following the offences committed in Gwynedd.

In July that year, following an increase in rural burglaries across Shropshire, detectives from West Mercia Police’s Shropshire’s Serious Acquisitive Crime Team started to investigate the thefts in their area.

At Shrewsbury Crown Court, seven of those involved were this week handed the following sentences after pleading guilty at a previous hearing:

Andrew Baker, aged 36, of Lovell Close in Shifnal, Shropshire – four years and five months Christopher Downes, aged 35, of Park View in Broseley, Shropshire – seven months Thomas Nutt, aged 27, of Bridgnorth Road in Broseley, Shropshire – four years and five months Wayne Price, aged 32, of Cross Houses in Shrewsbury, Shropshire – nine years Dean Rogerson, aged 34, of Homelands Park in Ketley Bank, Telford – three years and one-month Neil Shevlin, aged 32, of Four Winds in Norton, Shifnal, Shropshire – one-year and two months Ryan Taylor, aged 32, of Hayward Parade in Telford – two years and six months

On September 20 2024, the following sentences were issued at Mold Crown Court, for handling stolen goods:

Glenn Beresford, 22, of Chapel Street, Pensnett, Dudley – two years in prison, which was suspended for 21 months. Brad Skidmore, 19, of Moor Street, Brierley Hill, Dudley – 24 weeks in prison, which was suspended for 12 months. Niall Lloyd , 27, of Windsor Crescent, Broseley – two years in prison, which was suspended for 21 months. Liam Griffiths, 32, of Swan Street, Pensnett, Dudley – a community order, with a requirement to carry out 60 hours of unpaid work.

A month before the thefts began, and working closely with Wayne Price who headed the gang, Dean Rodgerson, travelled to the Gwynedd area, where he identified potential target addresses.

Weeks later, between August 8 and August 12, 2022, Price carried out four thefts. He began the spree at two close-by properties near Abergynolwyn, where he stole a quad bike from each address. Days later, Ryan Taylor travelled to Gwynedd to collect the bikes.

The other two thefts happened in the Bryncryg and Gwyddolfynydd areas, where Price stole another quad, an angle grinder, lawnmower and sheep shearing clippers. He then left the area to return home.

On August 14, Taylor returned to North Wales to collect the further stolen items. The following month, Price and Rogerson travelled back to North Wales to stay in Dolgellau, where they committed another five thefts.

The first happened in Harlech on September 14 where a golf buggy, chain saws, a leaf blower, strimmers, and a generator were stolen. The next day, Taylor made another trip from his home to Dolgellau to move them. The next night, Price and Rogerson went on to steal quad bikes, chainsaws and a shotgun from two properties in Dyffrun Ardudwy, before calling Glenn Beresford and Niall Lloyd to collect the stolen goods.

Lloyd was asked to return to Dolgellau the following day to collect more stolen property. Two homes in Dolgellau were next to be targeted by Price and Rodgerson in the early hours of September 17, where they stole a Land Rover from one and used it to take £60,000 worth of property from the other.

Later that morning, the pair travelled to Bala before returning home, only to make another brief visit back to North Wales with Lloyd and Taylor to move more stolen items. In October, a further seven thefts were reported to North Wales Police during Price and Neil Shevlin’s five-night stay at Dolgamedd Holiday Park in Dolgellau.

During one of the thefts, the pair targeted a property in Llanfihangel-y-Pennant and stole another Land Rover that Taylor later collected and drove back to West Mercia, towing a quad and other equipment on a trailer taken from the same house. West Mercia officers stopped the car, but Taylor abandoned the vehicle and made off on the quad.

In another incident during their Dolgellau stay, Price and Shevlin went on to steal a motorbike, two off-road bikes, two air rifles and a generator from a home in Bala. The following day, Shevlin was captured on CCTV at the holiday park cleaning his shoes to discard evidence of his involvement.

An advert for the stolen motorbike from Bala was later placed on Faceboook Marketplace by Brad Skidmore. But a vehicle Beresford had been driving was pictured in the background.

One evening, Price and Shevlin were out all-night committing thefts in the Bala area, spending hours in some properties. CCTV footage from one property showed the offenders at the address moving items around in preparation to be stolen, before they were disrupted by occupiers.

In February 2023, North Wales Police’s Serious Organised Crime Unit and Rural Crime Team executed a number of warrants in the Shropshire and West Midlands areas, alongside Dyfed Powys Police and West Mercia Police where a number of the stolen items were recovered. Forensic investigations, mobile phone data analysis and travel patters eventually led them to charge the organised crime gang in May 2023.

Investigating officer, Detective Constable Rebecca Williams said: “I welcome today’s sentences for this organised gang of criminals who stole high-value agricultural equipment and property from a number of rural areas of Gwynedd.

“Thefts of this nature deprive farming families of the tools that they need to carry out their work, who are already stretched to the limit. They have a significant impact on businesses and families both financially and emotionally, with many rural communities left feeling vulnerable and intimidated.

“This group’s crimes also left some victims living in fear of another incident taking place, on what is not only their workplace, but also their family homes.

“We are committed to pursuing and disrupting those who commit such crimes, wherever they may come from.

“I would also like to thank colleagues from neighbouring forces who have supported us in this operation to bring these offenders to justice.”

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