A gang calling themselves the ‘Sticky Bandits’ stole £1.6million worth of cars and metal from businesses in a Christmas break-in spree.

The thieves filmed themselves laughing and joking as they ransacked industrial units and factories.

In one clip, one of the members refers to the gang as “Sticky Bandits”, in an apparent reference to the Home Alone movies.

Many of the businesses were targeted while they were closed for Christmas 2022.

After raiding a location, they spray painted the words “Ha, ha. Merry Christmas, Happy New Year’ on the floor before setting fire to a truck they had been using.

The gang, from Wolverhamptonraided 10 businesses in the West Midlands, in Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Dudley, Walsall, Bilston, Perry Barr, Brierley Hill, Kidderminster, Tamworth and Shrewsbury.

They would spend hours on construction sites while stealing metal and other goods using heavy machinery.

Credit: West Midlands Police/YouTube

They stole vehicles from the firms and used others with false number plates to transport the material back to their base in Wolverhampton and later to sell the metal to scrap dealers.

Three of the gang members used 17 mobile phones between them during the burglary spree to avoid being caught, police said.

They also filmed some of their raids on mobile phones, and in one video the gang members can be heard laughing as the man recording says: ‘Sticky thugs. I like it. I like it.”

Another member filmed a business near a cemetery, and later recorded himself saying in a voice memo: “You think I’m sad that I made it look like I’m crying on a grave just so I can see the building?”

Detectives used CCTV and phone records to identify the gang, who were arrested in a series of dawn raids in June last year.

£1.6m lost

The total loss of materials and vehicles cost the firms £1.6 million and damage to buildings cost around £200,000.

Firms were also hit with a further £800,000 in lost sales, costs of strengthening security and increased insurance premiums.

All five men admitted conspiring to burglarize commercial premises between December 2022 and June last year.

They were imprisoned for almost 30 years in total at Wolverhampton Crown Court on Friday.

Adam Shakespeare, 31, was jailed for six years and five months.

David Smith, 36, Lee Fletcher, 33, and Royston Hallard, 30, were each jailed for six years and four months.

David Williams, 44, was sentenced to three years and four months in prison.

“Serious Crime”

Detective Constable Kelly Whyte, from West Midlands PoliceHis Proactive Major Crime Unit, said: “This was serious, organized and professional crime on an industrial scale which resulted in the theft of materials and vehicles valued at over £1.6m, not to mention of business disruption and the emotional impact on those affected.

“They were focusing on places that were hidden by houses and hit during holiday periods when they knew the risk of them being disturbed was lower.

“Videos recovered from their mobile phones show how much they enjoyed what they were doing and were laughing and joking with each other.

“When we identified similarities between the offences, we launched a major investigation based on forensics, mobile phone analysis and CCTV, which meant we were able to move in and arrest the gang in the dawn raids last June.”

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