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Thre men have been jailed for a total of 22 years and eight months following an extensive investigation into burglaries across the North West.
Officers from our dedicated burglary team, Operation Castle, launched Operation Coliseum in order to investigate 37 separate burglaries between January 2021 and April 2022 at properties in Merseyside, Cheshire, Lancashire and North Wales.
The properties targeted on Merseyside included homes in Formby, Birkdale, Southport, Blundellsands and Hightown.
Two of the three broke into ex-Everton manager, Carlo Ancelotti’s house, while his partner and her teenage daughter were in the property in February 2021.
The organised crime group stole cash, jewellery, watches and vehicles worth hundreds of thousands of pounds.
Some of their thefts included a Mercedes car valued at £55,000 from a property in Cheshire, jewellery and handbags worth £60,000 from a property in Formby and jewellery worth £95,000 from an address in Blundellsands.
Three men appeared at Liverpool Crown Court on Thursday 22 December to be sentenced.
Adam Hastings, 31, originally from the Netherton area but no fixed abode, has been sentenced to ten years and nine months after pleading guilty to 35 separate offences.
Shaun Rimmer, 29, originally from the Netherton area but no fixed abode, has been sentenced to seven years and six months after pleading guilty to 22 separate offences.
Callum Martin, 33, from the Bootle area but no fixed abode, has been sentenced to four years and five months after pleading guilty to six separate offences.
They also pleaded guilty to three offences of being in possession of a firearm after they stole the weapon from the home of a victim who legally owned them.
Detective Inspector Darren Hankin said, “The sentencing of these three men has come on the back of an 18 month investigation where it was a huge team effort.
“There has been some exceptional investigative work that has led to these sentences, in particular the efforts of Detective Constable Neil Jones.
“The Op Castle team has spent considerable time carrying out enquiries in relation to these burglaries and I hope this sentencing brings some comfort to the victims.
“We understand that burglary often has a massive impact on victims. It can be a really personal and invasive crime and victims can struggle to come to terms with offenders having entered their homes and stolen personal items, which don’t always have huge monetary value, but on a personal level can be irreplaceable.
“Key to these successes can often be information from those communities targeted, so I would continue to ask people to report anything suspicious, and come forward with any information you may have seen or heard.
Always call 999 if a burglary is in progress. Anyone with information on burglary is asked to contact the Merseyside Police dedicated email address on operation.castle@merseyside.police.uk
You can also pass information to the social media desk @MerPolCC, call 101 or you can call or the independent charity @CrimestoppersUK anonymously, on 0800 555 111.
Image: Merseyside Police
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