Tracking devices were fitted to cars as families ate together at restaurants

As families sat down to eat together at a restaurant, a heartless gang of burglars quietly attached transmitters to their cars.

A “sophisticated, carefully planned and well-executed conspiracy” led to the theft of jewellery and cash worth tens of thousands of pounds from homes on the outskirts of Liverpool, with six homes targeted in September and October last year.

The masterminds behind the vicious plot milled around outside Merseyside restaurants, choosing their next victims. Today (July 5), a court heard how they deliberately targeted members of the Asian community who had a “perceived reputation for keeping large amounts of cash and high-value jewellery in their homes”.

When police confronted Stuart Devany, he denied involvement, saying: “I don’t do burglaries”. The 59-year-old launched into a 16-word tirade from the dock at Liverpool Crown Court during his sentencing.

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Devany, of Chorley’s Lane, Widnes, and his accomplices were said to have identified their victims by placing trackers on the vehicles of restaurant, bar and shop owners – which would reveal their home addresses.

Once inside the property, prosecutor Philip Astbury detailed how the gang members “ignored” valuables such as iPads, iPhones and televisions, focusing instead on their intended loot, providing themselves with an already “established outlet” for stolen jewellery in the Doncaster area.

The first series of burglaries began on September 19, 2023, starting at a house on Muirfield Road in Huyton, Merseyside. The thieves entered the property at around 2.30pm via a rear patio door, the Liverpool Echo reports.