A Romanian crime gang set up camp and cycled to jewellers across the country armed with sledgehammers and set cars alight to block police in a string of burglaries where they stole more than £3 million worth of property.
Six men were jailed for 47 years today for offences, including a £644,900 raid on a store in Milton Keynes, committed between November 2015 and September 2016.
Watches, rings and necklaces were stolen in a series of 11 raids, including at Bluewater shopping centre in Kent and Bicester Village in Oxford, described as 'meticulously planned' by the detective running the investigation.
Sledgehammers were used to gain entry to shops and fires were set to hamper the efforts of emergency services.
Detective Chief Inspector Ricky Fields said the group could be linked to the notorious Romanian Crime Academy as several of the members came from the same region of the country and employed similar strategies.