A man who stole cars valued at more than £600,000 has been jailed.

Three other men were also jailed for their roles in the thefts which took place between July 2019 and February 2020. The sentences were handed down at Inner London Crown Court on Friday 15 December following a four-year British Transport Police (BTP) investigation.

Jack Smith, 36 and of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to multiple counts of theft and for handling stolen goods. He received a sentence of 90 months in prison and a further six months for a separate vehicle theft in 2022. He will spend eight years in prison.

Jay Tisdall, 31, from Romford, was found guilty of three counts of theft and was sentenced to two years in prison while Michael Holmes, 32, from Rainham, was found guilty of one count of attempted theft and was sentenced to nine months in prison, suspended for 18 months.

Ricky Steed, 31, from Dagenham, pleaded guilty to one count of theft and was also sentenced to nine months in prison, suspended for 18 months.

Detectives from BTP’s Major, Serious Organised Crime Unit launched Operation Concrete in October 2019. The were investigating a series of linked offences which involved thefts and attempted thefts of a large number of high-value cars from railway station car parks and other locations in Essex.  BTP officers linked up with both Essex Police and the Metropolitan Police to form a joint operation.

The offence in the string of thefts involved Smith stealing a Range Rover from Shenfield Station car part on 24 July 2019. Later on the same day, the vehicle was discovered having sustained £25,000 worth of damage. DNA later recovered from the car was later confirmed as that of Smith. Around the same time, a transit van was stolen.  It was later spotted in a convoy which included a car that, three days previously, had been insured by Smith.  Within days, another high-value vehicle was stolen from a residence in Romford.  In much the same way, it was later seen in a convoy with a vehicle which had been insured by Smith in the last three days.

Smith and others stole four vehicles in July 2019.  The combined value of the cars topped £100,000. The court was told that, in one case, Smith stole a Range Rover from a supermarket car park and texted a picture of the vehicle to his partner an hour later with the message ‘Got u a new car xxx’.

The thefts took place mainly between the hours of 10:00 and 14:30 from station car parks. Commuters would have left their cars and they were taken before they returned. In all, 18 high-value cars and vans were taken.

Investigating officer DC Keef Cook said: “This sentence for Smith shows that the police and courts don’t take the theft of motor vehicles lightly, and I am extremely pleased with the result.

“The theft of a motor vehicle causes unnecessary anguish and stress to the victims not only over the loss of their vehicle, but for the loss of their personal property within the vehicle and the financial loss incurred by insurance excess and increase in premiums.

“I would like to thank our colleagues in Essex Police and Metropolitan Police for their help in securing these convictions.”