Luxury car theft ring busted as five jailed for running illegal ‘chop shop’

A sophisticated criminal operation involving the theft, dismantling, and export of high-end vehicles has been brought to a halt, with five men sentenced for their roles in the unlawful enterprise.

The group was found to be running illegal "chop shops" where luxury cars, including Porsches, BMWs, and Mercedes, were stripped for parts and sold on. The sentencing took place at Guildford Crown Court on April 2.

Surrey Police executed a warrant at a suspected chop shop in Cranleigh on October 11, 2024. During the operation, officers discovered several high-value stolen vehicles being dismantled.

Four men were arrested at the scene while actively stripping cars. A fifth man, spotted leaving the location, was also taken into custody.

All five were charged and later remanded on conspiracy to handle stolen goods. Between the two sites, more than £700,000 worth of stolen vehicles and parts were uncovered.

Deividas Jakaitis, 37, of no fixed address, was identified by police as the ringleader. He was said to have orchestrated the thefts and coordinated the dismantling and shipping of stolen vehicle parts. Investigations also revealed that he paid for a lock-up facility in Chertsey used to store the stripped parts.

He pleaded guilty on the first day of the trial and was sentenced to 32 months imprisonment.

Also pleading guilty was Irmantas Lozuraitis, 41, who was sentenced to eight months imprisonment, and Gytic Kirsinikas, 26 who was handed a six month jail term.

Raimundas Dumcius, 24, and Eimantas Mikalauskas, 21, both pleaded guilty ahead of the trial, receiving eight months and six months behind bars respectively.

Detective Constable Claire Phillips, who led the investigation, praised the collaborative efforts behind the case: “These sentences are a result of the excellent teamwork between multiple teams within Surrey Police, as well as strong cooperation with colleagues in police forces across the country, where many of these vehicles were originally stolen.”