Six men jailed over £20k whisky theft

A gang of professional thieves who stole lorries and their hauls, including £23,000 worth of whisky, have been sentenced to more than 25 years in prison.

The group, who are mostly based in the Liverpool area, appeared at Maidstone Crown Court on Tuesday, 26 May, to be sentenced for their individual roles in three theft offences which took place in the Dover area in April 2013.

At some point between 5 and 7 April 2013, whisky with a total retail price of £23,000 was stolen from the trailer of a lorry parked in a haulage yard in Lydden. The lorry driver only discovered the pallet of alcohol had been taken when he arrived at the Port of Dover bound for mainland Europe and found the seal on his trailer had been tampered with.

Investigations at the haulage yard found a pair of latex gloves and two holes in the perimeter fence near to where the lorry had been parked.

Lee Henry Gilmore, 33, of Sidney Powell Avenue, Liverpool, pleaded guilty to his role in the theft whilst Graham Ascroft, 56, of Higher Lane, Holmes Tarleton, Preston, Lancashire, was found guilty by a jury.

Another theft took place on 20 April 2013 when a lorry was taken from a haulage yard in Whitfield. Officers found CCTV at the premises which showed a total of four offenders angle grind the lock of the main gate off before one of them drove the lorry out of the yard. The vehicle was discovered four days later in an industrial park in Pike Road, Eythorne, bearing false number plates.

Jeffrey Hamid, 31, of Hargate Road, Liverpool, John Dahl, 44, of Aysgarth Avenue, Liverpool and Darren John Michael Price, 39, previously of County Road, Kirby, Liverpool, all pleaded guilty to their roles in the theft of the £40,000 lorry. Following a trial, Stuart Nicolson, 48, of Bindon Blood Road, Whitfield, Dover, was found guilty of taking part in the theft.

A third theft took place on 26 April 2013 when thieves broke into a haulage yard and stole the keys to a lorry and its refrigerated trailer containing Toblerone chocolate with a total retail price of £201,000.

Gilmore, Price, Hamid and Dahl pleaded guilty to their roles in stealing the lorry and its consignment whilst Ascroft and Nicolson were found guilty following a trial. On Tuesday, Gilmore was sentenced to four years eight months in prison, Hamid to four years six months, Dahl to four years eight months and Price was sentenced to four years eight months. Nicolson was sentenced to four years and Ascroft to four years eight months imprisonment.

Investigating officer Detective Sergeant Jon Saxby said: “These sentences reflect the seriousness of these offences – organised, professional thieves who stole lorries and lorry loads to sell on. Ascroft, it appears made the contacts to sell the haul on whilst Price and others travelled the country to target hauliers to steal the vehicles and the consignments.

“Whilst this group made a quick sale, legitimate businesses and hauliers suffered greatly with property stolen, deliveries cancelled, excess payments on insurance and not to mention the inconvenience to their customers. The message is simple – if you commit crime in Kent, no matter where you are from, we will find you and we will bring you to justice.”