End of the line for truck ringing gang
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by Sally Nash • A gang of six professional lorry thieves have been jailed for their parts in a £ 150,000 "ringing" campaign in Kent and Essex. Their activities centred on a caravan park in Crayford, near Watford, where they dismantled at least six HGVs between late 1996 and early 1997. They also attempted to steal at least three other vehicles.
Last week's trial at Maidstone Crown Court was the culmination of what Judge Keith Simpson described as a "heavy police investigation".
Leonard Powell and William Jones, who lived in the same house, stole the trucks, helped by Trevor Lee and Tommy Harber. Thomas and Dean Rutherford were present at the dismantling. Kiddie, described as a "foot soldier", was in charge of cutting up the vehicles.
The court heard that the whole ringing process took as little as 36 hours. One aborted attempt to take a tractor from the Granada Services at West Thurrock was followed the next day by a successful theft from the same place.
The court heard that this vehicle, the total value of which was about £53,000 including its load, had been "cut into small pieces" at the Willow Walk cara van site. The engine and other parts were sold for about £3,000. The gang also stole a £50,000 Mercedes tractor belonging to Sandwich-based Kent European Transport, and an 11-tonner operated by Kent County Council Landscape Services.
Peter Woodall, for Powell and Jones, told the court: "The prospect of easy money became too tempting." Simpson remarked that premiums would go up as a result of payouts by insurance firms.
Powell, Lee, Jones, Harber and Kiddie were all jailed for three years 11 months; Thomas Rutherford was jailed for three years, but his son Dean was spared prison after it was revealed that he bad arthritis in his hip and would be disabled for life. • William Dennard of Darenth, near Dartford, described as the brains behind a 300,000 van ringing operation, has been jailed for seven years. About 33 vans. mainly Ford Transits, were thought to be involved.
The usual system was to steal a van, burn it out and then use its identity on another vehicle. The ringed vans would be used for a period and passed on, either to an innocent private buyer or as a trade-in at a Ford dealership.
Dennard's son-in-law. John Draper. was jailed for four years: Dennard's son, also called William. was sentenced to two-and-ahalf years for his involvement