Hale Independent Issue 191

11 MAY 2026 Visit our website: www.independentnewspapers.co.uk FOUR Albanian men and a British woman have been sentenced to more than 38 years in prison for the roles they played in a series of high value burglaries in Cheshire and across the UK. The gang used Rightmove and Google to plan break- ins at wealthy addresses that netted them a haul val- ued at more than £1million. They regularly gloated about their crimes and shared images of their ill-gotten gains. The investigation that brought the gang to jus- tice began in October 2024 when detectives from Mac- clesfield Proactive CID became aware of a series of break-ins across east Cheshire, including Mac- clesfield, Prestbury, Weston and Willaston. The offenders would typ- ically gain entry by using ladders to access first floor windows and balconies. Once inside they would ran- sack the properties, stealing jewellery, designer hand- bags, watches and cash. After a number of local enquiries, officers engaged in meetings with other forces across the UK who reported similar incidents in their areas. Following collaboration between the Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Staf- fordshire forces, detectives from Macclesfield were able to link the incidents in Cheshire to several oth- ers across the UK through footwear marks left at the scenes. Police also used Auto- matic Number Plate Rec- ognition (ANPR) technology to identify vehicles present at all of these incidents. Through all of the evi- dence gathered, including DNA, officers were able to link the gang to at least 59 burglaries across the UK. These included eight in Cheshire, two in Cleve- land, nine in Derbyshire, two in Leicestershire, five in Nottinghamshire, seven in Staffordshire, two in Warwickshire and nine in West Mercia. The estimated total value of the items stolen is in excess of £1million and while some items have been recovered, the vast majority are believed to have been sold on. After months of investi- gation work police carried out a series of raids at addresses in the West Mid- lands. During these officers recovered 13 designer hand- bags, along with 14 watches worth almost £17,000. Several mobile phones were also recovered during the warrants, and during analysis officers recovered hundreds of images of the stolen items, along with messages which contained links to Google maps which correlated with the scene of the burglaries. The court heard the men used Google to search for affluent postcodes to identify potential targets, before browsing Rightmove to research property floor- plans. In CCTV footage, they were captured steal- ing an entire safe from one home. Gang members Kris- tian Gropcaj, 30, George Pepa, 31, Krisjian Dedn- dreaj, 28, Sidorjan Lleshi, 26, and Jade Tubb, 33, ONE of the gang’s victims explained to the court the impact the break-in had on themand their family. In the raid on their property in Macclesfield the gang took jewellery andwatches that were family heirlooms. They said the burglary had “shaken the foun- dationandsecurityinourfamily.” And they told the sentencing hearing: “The realisation that strangers had broken into our house while we were inside – just a floor away, was some- thing I will never forget. “We didn’t know if they were armed, howmany people there were, or whether they would come downstairs, meaning we were forced to barricade our- selves in the lounge.” Speaking after the sentenc- ing hearing, Detective Chief Inspector David Worthington, of Macclesfield Proactive CID, said:“As this casedemonstrates, if you commit crime inCheshire, you will be caught and you will be brought to justice. “Our officers are committed to travelling the length and breadthofthecountrytoensure that those who cause harm in our communities are held accountable for their actions. “I hope that the sentencing of these offenders will provide some reassurance for the vic- tims in this case and allow them tomove forwardwiththeir lives. “I also hope that this case acts as awarning to anyone else who is thinking of coming to Cheshire to commit crime.” Cheshire Police have now launched an appeal to trace the rightful owners of hun- dreds of suspected stolen items which were recovered during the investigation. SPECIAL REPORT ALBANIAN CRIME GANG BROUGHT TO JUSTICE House raids netted crooks more than £1m (Photo credit: Cheshire Police) ‘Shaken to the foundation’ Action: Police carried out raids across theWest Midlands that led to arrests Haul: Some of the stolen goods recovered by police were sentenced at Chester Crown Court. Dedndreaj, of Crabtree Road, Walsall, was jailed for nine years for conspiracy to commit burglary and a con- current sentence of five years for conspiracy to possess crim- inal property. Pepa, of Crabtree Road, Walsall also received a nine-year sentence for con- spiracy to commit burglary and a concurrent sentence of four-and-a-half years for conspiracy to possess crimi- nal property. Lleshi, of Durlstone Drive, Sheffield,was jailed for 10 years and nine months for con- spiracy to commit burglary, one count of burglary and conspiracy to possess crimi- nal property. An additional 15 counts of burglary were also taken into consideration. Gropcaj, of Gas Street, Bir- mingham, received a 10-year jail sentence for conspiracy to commit burglary and a con- current sentence of five-and- a-half years for conspiracy to possess criminal property. Tubb, also of Crabtree Road, Walsall, was sentenced to one year in prison sus- pended for two years, for pos- session of criminal property. And a sixth defendant, 29-year-old Endrit Nikolli, of Crabtree Road, Walsall, will be sentenced at a later date. Following the sentencing, Detective Sergeant Laura Fox, of Macclesfield Proactive CID, said: “Nikolli, Gropcaj, Dedndreaj, Pepa, Lleshi and Tubb were all members of a high-level organised crime gang responsible for at least 59 high value burglaries across the UK. “All of the incidents were carefully orchestrated, with the gang researching their targets before committing their crimes, even expand- ing their crime spree across multiple forces in an effort to go undetected. “The gang specifically tar- geted wealthy victims, with the aim of stealing as much high value property as pos- sible. Between them, they even set weekly targets for the amount of gold that they wanted to steal. “Nikolli, Gropcaj, Dedn- dreaj, Pepa and Lleshi were all responsible for conducting the burglaries, while Tubb was happy to spend their ill-gotten gains. “Throughout our investi- gation it has been clear that the gang had absolutely no regard for the impact that their offences would have on the victims. Instead, they regularly gloated about their crimes and shared images of ill-gotten gains. “Thankfully, as a result of the evidence gathered during the course of the investiga- tion, all six defendants had no option but to plead guilty to the charges and are now facing the consequences of their actions.”