Man used stolen vehicles to ram-raid supermarkets and steal ATMs across five counties.

According to police, the ram raids significantly reduced trading. A man was involved in a five-county crime spree that involved ram-raiding local supermarkets and stealing cash machines using stolen cars.

In a series of 16 burglaries that occurred between May and July of this year, Tony Smith plotted to break into two Leicestershire Co-Op stores.

On May 29, just after 3.30 am, a Mitsubishi Shogun was driven into the Knighton Co-Op on London Road by the 26-year-old, who was formerly of Green Acre, Needingworth Road, Cambridgeshire.

The Mitsubishi was later discovered abandoned on nearby Elmsleigh Avenue, and officers discovered that the cash machine had been taken from within the building.

In a second incident on July 9, a Co-Op in Cambridge Road, Whetstone, was rammed at around 4.07am and the ATM was carried into a blue Toyota Hilux.

The car struck an unmarked police car as it was leaving the scene, but the officer inside was unharmed.

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Leicestershire Police wanted Smith in relation to the burglaries, and he was apprehended in July.

Detectives claimed that as the investigation progressed, they were able to “evidentially” connect Smith to a number of other such crimes committed around the nation earlier this year.

Smith entered a guilty plea to conspiring to break into establishments where ATMs were taken in Christchurch, Leicester, Ludlow, and Whetstone, as well as to try ATM thefts in Shillingstone and Uttoxeter.

Additionally, he acknowledged plotting to steal cars from Southampton, Blandford Forum, Shaftsbury, Shardlow, and Craven Arms, as well as vehicles and lifting equipment from Gillingham, Ilkeston, and Leicester.

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In May, a cash machine was taken from a store on London Road (Photo: Leicester Media). Smith received a sentence of seven years and six months in prison on Friday, November 21, at Leicester Crown Court.

The cars used in most of the crimes were stolen and had fake license plates, according to Detective Constable Vicki Morris of the force’s Complex Investigation Team.

Detective Constable Vicki Morris stated: “Smith’s crimes were a part of a nationwide scheme to break into ATMs.

In addition to the hundreds of thousands of pounds that these firms had to pay, some of them suffered a major loss of business while repairs were made to the destroyed property.

“This offending targeted commercial premises across Dorset and we have been working relentlessly with colleagues in Leicestershire to identify those involved and bring them to justice,” stated Detective Constable Liam Moss of the Dorset County CID.

Detective Constable Liam Moss, of Dorset County CID, added: “This offending targeted commercial premises across Dorset and we have been working relentlessly with colleagues in Leicestershire to identify those involved and bring them to justice.”

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