Cable theft gang jailed

FOUR men, who were part of a gang who stole nearly £715,000 in railway and phone cable, have been jailed.

The men carried out the attacks on train lines in Hertfordshire, Essex, Leicestershire, Buckinghamshire and London.

Christopher Cruz, 33, of Mellow Purgess Close, Laindon, Kris Kreuder, 36, of Elizabeth Way, Laindon, Shaun Nembhard, 44, of Coopersales, Basildon, John Michael Newton, 36, of Newberry Side , Laindon all pleaded guilty to conspiracy to steal cable from the railway network.

The court heard how the organised gang carried out 47 attacks at various times of the day between 1 May and 30 August 2011, stealing railway cable and BT communication cabling.
 

Cruz was jailed for three years and nine months, Nembhard was sentenced to two years and three months; and Kreuder was ordered to serve one year and four months in prison.

Sentencing for Newton was deferred until March, to take place following the conclusion of other unrelated charges currently under investigation.

*Full story in Wednesday's Echo

Comments(12)

Carnabackable says...
4:33pm Tue 29 Jan 13

Light sentences for the sum involved, wonder what skills they will learn, during their stay at her majesties pleasure?

Trainman says...
4:37pm Tue 29 Jan 13

Waste of time taking them to Court.

Ironman says...
5:11pm Tue 29 Jan 13

Bet they had a deprived childhood or something.

Nebs says...
5:17pm Tue 29 Jan 13

When is the proceeds of crime hearing?

it's me innit says...
5:30pm Tue 29 Jan 13

what this report fails to mention is that these men pleaded guilty to conspiracy. they have not convicted to theft as described.... get it right Gina Marden, before out print a full story in wednesdays echo

xenophobia says...
6:21pm Tue 29 Jan 13

it's me innit wrote:
what this report fails to mention is that these men pleaded guilty to conspiracy. they have not convicted to theft as described.... get it right Gina Marden, before out print a full story in wednesdays echo
all pleaded guilty to conspiracy to steal cable from the railway network.

What the hell are you going on about?? Cant you read?

BIRLIS says...
6:37pm Tue 29 Jan 13

Just goes to show that crime doesn't pay. Say they managed to off load the stolen gear at half what the value to the victims was, that's just £100k each (if they got that much for it). With a couple of sentences of over 2 and over 3 years, that doesn't look appealing. Would you work for £30-50k pa? And lose your liberty?

Talk about minimum wage!

it's me innit says...
11:07am Wed 30 Jan 13

Ironman wrote:
Bet they had a deprived childhood or something.
Really? They are grown men?!

ROSSONE says...
3:09pm Wed 30 Jan 13

THEY SAY £715,000 MAYBE IN DAMAGE NOT IN CABLE.

Be a realist says...
7:59pm Wed 30 Jan 13

Get it right............FAC
T.. Newspapers sell stories, the bigger they dress it up the better it looks for the press.
The Conspiracy was listed as 44 thefts of goods not directly attributed to any individual, and none of the accused was charged with theft.
The cost of goods stolen was less than £350,000 Total amount.
It was the replacement costs, added to workmens wages and equipment, added to the railway delay charges, added to the various other departments that drove up the sum to £713,000.
The actual scrap value of the metals was just £50k..... not exactly a big sum.
Lets also remember, No one was killed harmed or injured, no little old lady was mugged or had their house smashed into, and no vehicles were stolen or damaged.
And they also spent a lot of money buying & hiring equipment.
As for some of the stupid and ignorant comments posted on this blog, this is a very truthful statement........... NEVER JUDGE A MAN UNTIL YOU WALK A MILE IN HIS SHOES.
Get your facts right before shouting your mouth off.....!!!!

Lastlaugh... says...
8:13pm Thu 7 Feb 13

And not a Traveller among them...yet Travellers were at first blamed for the theft...how many real criminals are getting away because of societies prejudice?

it's me innit says...
7:12am Fri 8 Feb 13

Lastlaugh... wrote:
And not a Traveller among them...yet Travellers were at first blamed for the theft...how many real criminals are getting away because of societies prejudice?
So to disappoint you, but one of these men is a traveller!

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