Stockport brothers jailed over £125,000 'chop shop' scam

Two brothers, who admitted being part of a gang that stole and dismantled cars in a "chop shop" then listed parts online for £125,000, have been jailed.

Connor Maher, 29, ran the eBay account selling parts while his brother Kieran, 31, was also involved in the scam.

Police seized parts from 15 stolen vehicles in a raid at a premises in Radcliffe, Greater Manchester, in 2020.

Connor Maher was jailed for five years and four months and and Kieran Maher was sentenced to three years.

Manchester Crown Court Minshull Street heard both brothers pleaded guilty to conspiracy to handle stolen goods and produce cannabis.

It follows the sentencing of three others involved in the illegal operation last year.

The illegal chop shop was uncovered at Pioneer Mill, Milltown Street, in Radcliffe on 29 April 2020.

Greater Manchester Police seized vehicles including a BMW s330e Saloon which was only a month old when it was stolen in Stockport the previous January.

Two signal jammers - used to prevent GPRS trackers emitting signals and blocking signal to mobile phones - were also discovered at the premises.

Detectives found Connor Maher, of Silk Mill, Spinners Lane, had listed vehicle parts for more than £97,000 between December 2019 and April 2020 but they had not been bought.

He had sold £28,000 worth of parts which had been bought by members of the public, police said.

Craig Holt, 34, of Victoria Street, Ashton-under-Lyne, Craig Gault, 41, of Pendle Road, Denton, and Jody Allen, 40, of Brogan Avenue, Manchester - were sentenced for their roles in the chop shop in April.

Holt and Gault were jailed for two years for conspiracy to receive stolen goods while Allen was sentenced to 15 months imprisonment, suspended for two years for handling stolen goods.

The trio all pleaded guilty.

"The group were stealing cars and dismantling them to make a profit and the chop shop we raided was clearly an organised set up, even fitted with a signal jammer to prevent us finding them," Det Insp Phil Kennedy, from GMP, said.

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