Yahoo News Man who made £178,000 running vehicle 'chop shop' ordered to pay back £11,000
A man who made £178,000 while running a "chop shop" where stolen vehicles were stripped of their parts to be sold on has been ordered to pay back £11,000. Parts were taken from stolen cars worth £75,000.
William Hayward, 37, and Malcolm Hitchings, 37, were found in possession of the car parts in Pontypridd on June 22 after police intelligence linked stolen cars to a unit at the Old Coach Works in Berw Road. There is no suggestion the defendants stole the vehicles, which were delivered to what was dubbed a "chop shop".
Seven vehicles were stolen in total including a Ford Fiesta taken from a woman's driveway in Trowbridge, Cardiff, on April 9 last year. It was taken without its keys and was valued at around £3,500.
A white Ford Fiesta was taken from a property in Roath on the day it was purchased – again without its keys. The vehicle was valued at around £5,500. A Range Rover Evoque was stolen from a driveway in Aberdare on April 30 and had a value of around £12,500.
A red Range Rover worth £19,350 was taken from a property in Pandy, Monmouthshire, between May 7 and 8 with electronic gates damaged to gain entry. A black Range Rover Sport was stolen from Llandaff North between May 17 and 19 and was worth around £13,800.
There were further thefts of a white BMW five series worth £6,360 with the keys taken from inside the victim's property. The final theft took place on June 14 in Aberdare when a Land Rover Discovery worth £14,580 was stolen. The victim viewed CCTV footage of the theft which showed a white BMW pull up before a man got out and drove off in his vehicle.
The unit in Pontypridd, which was being rented by Hitchings, was raided by police who found both Hitchings and Hayward standing next to a white BMW which was being dismantled with electric cutting tools. The defendants were arrested but made no comment.
At a sentencing hearing last year prosecutor Jac Brown said: "It was clear it was being used as a well-established chop shop with stolen vehicles taken there and stripped of parts. Such an operation was facilitating organised thefts of vehicles. It involved high-end vehicles and was operating on a commercial scale." Parts from each of the stolen vehicles were discovered at the unit as well as 60 alloy wheels and tyres with Land Rover badges, stripped engines and other car parts, as well as a device called a "dongle" consistent with keyless thefts of Land Rovers and Range Rovers.
Both Hitchings, of Rhys Street, Trealaw, and Hayward, of Gray Street, Abertillery, pleaded guilty to seven counts of handling stolen goods. Hitchings was said to have 18 previous convictions while Hayward had 31 previous convictions including offences of dishonesty. The defendants were both sentenced to 26 months imprisonment each.
At a Proceeds of Crime Act hearing at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court on Tuesday Hayward was found to have benefited from the enterprise by £178,755 but only had assets worth £11,255. Judge Simon Mills ordered the defendant to pay that sum within three months or serve six months imprisonment in default.
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