An East London gang used high tech gadgets to steal 25 luxury cars which were then sold with cloned plates or dismantled for parts, a court heard.
The group of six men are all accused of being involved in the campaign of thefts, targeting expensive cars including an Audi S4, Land Rover Discovery and a BMW X6.
Andrus Lapinkas, 39, Audris Marcinonis, 54, Vytautas Vaitkus, 38, Giedrius Gureckis, 36, Rytas Indilas, 50, and Nerijus Seputis, 39, are all standing trial at Southwark Crown Court.
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Prosecutor Dickon Reid said: “This case concerns a group of six Lithuanian men whom the prosecution say were involved firstly in vehicle theft and secondly what is known as ringing on a large scale.
“It was at the garages that the stolen high-value motor vehicles were broken up for parts or were given new identities to be sold on.”
Audris Marcinonis 54, from Plaistow
(Image: Tim Merry)
Jurors heard how members of the group would use blank fobs to connect to the car’s central computer and reprogram it as a new key.
Other members of the gang owned garages where the cars would be worked on, either broken down for scrap or had their Vehicle Identification Numbers chiselled off and replaced.
The prosecutor added: “It’s a process that takes little time.
“One piece of footage we will play from a home CCTV security system shows an expensive vehicle being stolen and it shows how it is that access is gained to this car and it really is a matter of minutes before this key is programmed and the vehicle is stolen.”
Audris Marcinonis 54, from Plaistow
(Image: Tim Merry)
Footage from a home security camera was played in court showing a man approaching an Audi S4 on a driveway in Highbury, North London.
The prosecutor said the man used a device that linked to the keyless fob in the owner’s home, allowing the suspected thief to open the vehicle.
Mr Reid said the man can be seen re-entering the car and programming a new key, which takes around ten minutes.
He then exits the car and another man appears to drive the car away, the court heard.
Nerijus Seputis 39, from Dagenham
(Image: Tim Merry)
Seputis, of Plaistow, east London, is accused of handling stolen goods.
Lapinskas, of Dagenham, Essex, is accused of conspiring to conceal criminal property and conspiring to steal motor vehicles.
Marcinonis, of Dagenham, Essex, Vaitkus, of Ilford, Essex, Gureckis, of Grays, Essex, and Indilas, of Dagenham, Essex, is accused of conspiring to conceal criminal property.
All deny their charges.
The trial continues.
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