9:30 am, April 8, 2025
Five men have been jailed for running an illegal ‘chop shop’ which saw them dismantle and export stolen cars from a warehouse in leafy Surrey.
The quintet targeted high-end vehicles including Porsches, Mercedes and BMWs which they stripped down and sold all over the world.
The group avoided detection by quickly switching the cars to false plates before leaving them holed up at premises in Cranleigh.
However, last October police obtained a warrant to raid the suspected chop shop, where they caught four of the men in the act of dismantling stolen vehicles.
Another man was also caught trying to leave the site, with all five arrested and subsequently charged with conspiracy to handle stolen goods.
All have now appeared at Guildford Crown Court where they were handed prison terms of varying lengths.
Described as the ‘ring leader’ of the illegal operation, 37-year-old Deividas Jakaitis was identified as paying for a separate lock-up facility in Chertsey to store the illegal items.
Between the two sites, more than £700,000 worth of stolen vehicles and parts were uncovered. He pleaded guilty on the first day of the trial and was sentenced to 32 months imprisonment.
Also pleading guilty on day one was Irmantas Lozuraitis, 41, who was sentenced to eight months imprisonment, and Gytic Kirsinikas, 26 who was handed a six month jail term.
Meanwhile, 24-year-old Raimundas Dumcius and 21-year-old Eimantas Mikalauskas both pleaded guilty ahead of the trial, receiving eight months and six months behind bars respectively.
Reacting to the sentences, investigating officer, Detective Constable Claire Phillips said: ‘These sentences are a result of the excellent teamwork between a number of teams in Surrey Police, as well as joint working with our colleagues in force areas nationally in which these vehicles were stolen from.
‘These men attempted to evade detection by promptly changing the license plate of the stolen vehicles, but through our joint working we were still able to identify vehicles of the same make and model near to where the thefts occurred, which were then seen making their way to Surrey.’
