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UK Gang Stands Trial for Charges Related to Two-Year, $5 Million Crime Spree
ARTnews ^ | August 30, 2023 | Daniel Cassady

Posted on 08/30/2023 6:26:37 PM PDT by nickcarraway

The court proceedings against a British organized crime operation known as OCG Square, whose members are accused of stealing over $5 million worth of goods over two years and 22 separate heists has begun in Northampton, the Northhamptonshire Telegraph reported Tuesday.

The gang’s alleged crime spree ran from April 2019 through September 2021 and, though the majority of the thefts were in Corby, North Northamptonshire, OCG Square is accused of stealing “high value” goods, including works of art, Range Rovers, luxury clothes, solar panels, and hundreds of thousands of face masks and antiseptic wipes businesses across the UK.

British Museum Has Recovered Some of the 2,000 Missing and Stolen Items According to the prosecutor, Dharmendra Toor, the group gained confidence after every robbery. “Be it arrogance, perhaps,” he said to the jury, “but they became determined to continue because they were onto a good thing and thought they’d never get caught.”

Prosecutors say one of their earliest jobs dates back to April 2019, when the crew allegedly smashed a window at the historic Nevill Holt Hall in Leicestershire, entered the premises, and stole a group of paintings.

According to the Telegraph the works include two paintings by the British artist Sir Howard Hodgkin, a Gilbert & George photo, a 1961 work by Sir Peter Blake, and piece called Custom Painting No 6 by Peter Philips. Prosecutors say they found the images of the stolen works on a mobile phone that belongs to one of the accused men, Adel Chouhaib, who prosecutors called the “mastermind” of the plot, and texts from an unidentified man who claimed to have found a buyer for the works.

In large part, the robberies were committed during lockdowns imposed during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, leaving many businesses vulnerable to attack at a time when the country was highly dependent on online shopping. OCG Square allegedly targeted businesses that dealt specifically in goods that were valuable during the pandemic.

Prosecutors accuse the men of allegedly stealing two trailers of PPE, including 319,000 facemasks owned by a Corby-based healthcare agency and destined for the National Health Service. Then, over three days in December 2021, the prosecutors said, OCG allegedly hijacked an Amazon trailer packed with food near Glenfield in Leicester, and 26 pallets of Amazon stock was taken from a site near Wincanton in Corby.

Police say they’ve seized money, phones, stolen goods and drugs from 12 properties linked to the suspects and had found “significant volumes of cash going through their bank accounts.” The four men claim to be innocent.


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; News/Current Events; United Kingdom
KEYWORDS: crime; gangs; unitedkingdom

1 posted on 08/30/2023 6:26:37 PM PDT by nickcarraway
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To: nickcarraway

Long ago I heard a professor say on a radio show “People should stop saying crime doesn’t pay. Crime pays and it pays well.”


2 posted on 08/30/2023 6:28:25 PM PDT by frank ballenger (You have summoned up a thundercloud. You're gonna hear from me. Anthem by Leonard Cohen)
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To: nickcarraway

No names there = no race here?


3 posted on 08/30/2023 6:29:51 PM PDT by OSHA (Dale Carnegie has a restraining order against me.)
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To: frank ballenger

And if you pay for some police protection, it can go on a very long time.


4 posted on 08/30/2023 6:31:12 PM PDT by Secret Agent Man (Gone Galt; not averse to Going Bronson.)
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To: nickcarraway
Still waiting for the day...

Biden Crime Syndicate Stands Trial for Charges Related to Twenty-Year, $100 Million Crime Spree


5 posted on 08/30/2023 6:41:57 PM PDT by ProtectOurFreedom (“Occupy your mind with good thoughts or your enemy will fill them with bad ones.” ~ Thomas More)
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To: ProtectOurFreedom

Don’t hold your breath.


6 posted on 08/30/2023 6:43:14 PM PDT by nickcarraway
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To: OSHA

No names, no photos, I wonder what is being hidden?

It just escapes me...

.


7 posted on 08/30/2023 6:47:23 PM PDT by TLI (ITINERIS IMPENDEO VALHALLA)
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To: OSHA

Coulter’s Law applies even in the UK. Perhaps especially so.


8 posted on 08/30/2023 7:40:52 PM PDT by FreedomPoster (Islam delenda est)
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To: ProtectOurFreedom

The Biden crime family laughs at such small numbers as 100 million. They deal in billions.


9 posted on 08/30/2023 7:50:01 PM PDT by freefdny
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To: OSHA; nickcarraway; TLI
No names there = no race here?

The names are given in full in the local newspaper report cited in the posted article.

They are Adel Chouhaib, Barry and Robert Mitchell, William Castle and Suray Hamdi.

'Suray' is commonly use as a first name by Syrian Christians.

Chouhaib is a common surname in Morocco.

The remaining three...

10 posted on 08/31/2023 1:20:48 AM PDT by Winniesboy
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To: nickcarraway

Funny how they are NOT referring to the ANCESTRY of these thieves.

Names sound Pakistani.


11 posted on 08/31/2023 7:59:43 AM PDT by ridesthemiles
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To: ProtectOurFreedom

50 years or more

BILLIONS


12 posted on 08/31/2023 8:00:18 AM PDT by ridesthemiles
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To: ridesthemiles

Those names so familiar from Islamabad Central Casting, ‘Barry’, ‘Robert’, ‘William’, ‘Mitchell’ and ‘Castle’?


13 posted on 08/31/2023 12:28:23 PM PDT by Winniesboy
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