Two men are jailed for stealing £60,000 worth of phones from two CEX stores in Cumbria, using e-bikes for their heists.
Liam Brogden, 40, is from Bradford and lived on Dawson Mount. He got three and a half years for two burglary charges.
Stewart Walton, 43, is from Keighley and lived on Percy Street. He received five years for burglary and is a father of five. Both men admitted their guilt.
The men broke into the Carlisle CEX on Scotch Street early on July 23rd. They smashed a window to gain entry and stole £30,000 in phones. They then left on electric bikes.
Brogden and Walton drove from Bradford in a Fiat Sucdo van. The van had fake license plates, and they left Carlisle in it hours after the theft.
Three days later, they targeted another CEX on Pow Street in Workington early on July 26th. They stole another £30,000 in phones during this burglary.
They used laundry bags for the stolen goods and rode electric bikes again. They then got back into the van, which had different fake plates this time.
Detectives used the Briefcam System, an object-focused tool that analyzes a lot of CCTV faster. This system helped them quickly find the men.
Police searched CCTV in both towns, looking for specific clothes, including a unique cap Brogden wore. This helped identify them in connection to the crimes.
They tracked the men in Workington and saw them before the crime occurred. Footage from two local businesses positively identified them.
CCTV caught them buying laundry bags, which they used in the Workington burglary. The same clothing appeared in Carlisle CCTV footage as well.
Police said they studied the stores ahead of time and used electric bikes to escape. They also used the van with cloned plates, calling it a planned crime.
They hope this deters others from crime, and that Cumbria police will investigate, work with other forces, and prosecute criminals in court.