By Editor Jon Brady
Police officers have arrested several members of an alleged Albanian organised crime gang following a spate of burglaries across swathes of England – including towns in the so-called Golden Triangle of Cheshire beloved by celebrities.
Cheshire Police detectives swooped on three addresses in Walsall, Sutton Coldfield and Birmingham early on Wednesday and cuffed three men aged 27, 28 and 30.
All three are Albanian nationals, the force said. Police also detained a 33-year-old British woman. All four are being held on suspicion of conspiracy to commit burglary and remain in police custody.
Dramatic footage showed uniformed officers shouting ‘Police!’ as they stormed into a house in the execution of Operation Ambler – ongoing police action involving multiple English forces intent on tackling Albanian gang activity.
During the stunning raids, a man is seen being handcuffed as he lies prone and shirtless in bed. Other clips showed men being led into the back of cage vans.
Detectives from Macclesfield CID leading the operation say the arrests are linked to at least 37 ‘sophisticated’ burglaries that took place between October and March at addresses all over the country.
Among the thefts were 10 in Cheshire, seven in Staffordshire, 13 in Derbyshire – including two at the same address on the same day – three in Cleveland and one apiece in Durham, West Mercia, Nottinghamshire and Warwickshire.
Every raid targeted a ‘high-value residential premises’, police allege. Some of the addresses in Cheshire hit were in the footballers’ enclaves of Alderley Edge and Prestbury – two of the ‘Golden Triangle’ towns favoured by the rich and famous.
Thieves are thought to have broken in via first-floor windows and doors as they carried out the raids, and went to ‘great lengths’ to do so across England.
Criminals are said to have made off with more than £1million of high-value items in total – £400,000 of it from homes in Cheshire alone – some of which were allegedly recovered during the morning raids.
In video released by Cheshire Police, officers wearing head torches could be seen raking through wardrobes as they sought to trace the stolen goods.
Valuable-looking watches were dropped into evidence bags, while a mobile phone was placed into a specialist forensic evidence box.
Detective Sergeant Laura Fox of Macclesfield CID said: ‘Today’s raids are the culmination of detailed investigations across multiple forces brought together into at least thirty-seven high value burglaries spread over a six-month period.
‘Our investigation has shown us that these incidents have been carefully planned and coordinated, and they’ve gone to great lengths to continue their crime spree across the country.
‘On each occasion the offenders have specifically targeted high value properties, breaking in via first floor windows and doors, and ransacking the premises to steal as much as possible.
‘In total we believe that the value of the items stolen in the burglaries was more than £1 million, which includes more than £400,000 from the ten homes in Cheshire.
‘I hope that today’s arrests provide some reassurance to the victims in the case and also act as a warning to other offenders.’
And in a warning to thieves, her colleague Detective Inspector Dave Jarvis added: ‘No matter where you live, or how much you try to hide, our officers will come for you, and you will be arrested.’
Burglaries were once thought to be crimes of opportunity – but have allegedly become the preserve of organised crime gangs who go to great lengths to execute professional operations targeting lucrative homes.
Last month, Cheshire Police issued an appeal for a burglary in Prestbury that saw three thieves drill a hole into a wall of a disused building in order to climb into the store next door.
The thieves made off with £260,000 of high-value designer handbags from Dress Cheshire, whose owner Christine Colbert, 58, could only watch on helplessly as CCTV was livestreamed to her phone.
She told MailOnline last month: ‘This has been very well thought through – it’s very frightening for me.
‘I can’t believe the lengths they have gone to. It used to be watches people wanted – now it’s handbags and they are worth more second-hand than they are new.’
Similarly, £1million of designer handbags were stolen in a raid in Alderley Edge in February.
At this time, the incidents have not been linked to Albanian crime gang activity – but spates of incidents across Cheshire have prompted the rich and famous to beef up their security, hiring private contractors.