A gang of Italian Job cash machine raiders has been jailed for more than 90 years after a series of strikes across the UK which netted around half a million pounds.
The seven-strong team of gangsters blew up ATMs and used 4×4 vehicles to rip them from shops across the country, including Perth and Carnoustie.
Stolen high performance Audi and Mercedes cars were used as getaway vehicles, with the crooks driving them up ramps into the back of an articulated lorry in an elaborate scheme to evade capture.
The gang was finally snared in a dramatic showdown in the car park of Arbroath’s McDonalds fast food restaurant last February, just hours after tearing the ATM from the front of Carnoustie’s Co-op store.
Armed police fired tyre deflation rounds to disable a stolen Mercedes after some of the gang tried to ram their way to freedom in the morning drama, with notes from the Carnoustie machine littering the footwell of the getaway car.
Last month saw five men convicted at Liverpool Crown Court after a four-month trial centred around Operation Titan, with the total gang of seven sentenced on Thursday for their crimes, which included two further ATM strikes in the north east of Scotland.
One of the criminals received a life sentence for his involvement.
The gang and their sentences:
Andrew White, 28, St Helens, was sentenced to 19 years imprisonment with a further two years on licence. White pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit burglary and was found guilty of conspiracy to cause explosions.
Anthony White, 26, Huyton, was sentenced to 16 years imprisonment after being found guilty of conspiracy to commit burglary and conspiracy to cause explosions.
Nanu Miah, 28, Sparkbrook, Birmingham, was sentenced to life imprisonment. He will be only eligible to apply for parole after a minimum of nine years. Miah pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit burglary and was found guilty of conspiracy to cause explosions.
Anthony Conroy, 29, Wavertree, was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment. Conroy pleaded guilty to both offences.
Carl Cavanagh, 33, Huyton, was sentenced to 11 years imprisonment. Cavanagh pleaded guilty to both offences.
Michael Galea, 41, Prescot, was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment. Galea was found guilty of both offences.
Gary Carey, 40, Liverpool, was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment to commence at the completion of his current sentence. Carey was found guilty of conspiracy to cause an explosion.
* For more on this story see Friday’s Courier, also available as a digital edition.
