Man charged in £600,000 keyless car thefts probe

A man has been charged in connection with a series of keyless car thefts of vehicles valued at more than £600,000.

Karolis Tauckela, 27, of Cross Street, Spalding, Lincolnshire, is charged with conspiracy to steal motor vehicles in Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire and Leicestershire between August 2023 and June 2024.

The 12 high-value cars targeted include a Porsche and several BMWs and Mercedes.

Mr Tauckela was charged after being arrested in Haslingfield in Cambridgeshire on Wednesday and appeared before magistrates in Cambridge on Friday. He was bailed to appear at Cambridge Crown Court on 19 July.

He was also charged with handling stolen goods and going equipped for theft – namely being in possession of two vehicle frequency relay devices and an antenna booster.

Mr Tauckela was released on bail but has been made to surrender his passport to police, wear an electronic tag and adhere to a curfew between 21:00 and 06:00 BST.

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