Four men who stole at least nine high-value vehicles worth approximately £680,000 have been convicted at Snaresbrook Crown Court.
Adeel Arshad, 29 of Church Road, Waltham Forest pleaded guilty to conspiracy to steal and conspiracy to handle stolen goods.
Hassan Iqbal, 26 of Helena Road, Waltham Forest pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to steal and conspiracy to handle stolen goods. He entered a guilty plea at the start of the trial.
Ban Cooper, 21 of Beavon Close, Huntingdon pleaded guilty to conspiracy to steal.
Farasat Bhamjee, 28 of Northumberland Road, Waltham Forest was found guilty of conspiracy to steal and conspiracy to handle stolen goods.
All four will be sentenced on 9 September.
The gang stole the vehicles - the majority of which were Range Rovers - using sophisticated car security technology. They carried out their offences in areas likely to be frequented by drivers of high-value vehicles, such as wealthy areas of London and shopping centres.
Once a suitable vehicle was identified, the gang would tail-gate the vehicle, to enable them to park nearby. They would then wait for the driver to leave the vehicle and attempt to lock it. At this point, the gang member would activate a jamming device, preventing the vehicle from being locked. In the majority of cases the victims believed their cars were secure and walked away.
At this point entry was gained to the unsecure vehicle and an onboard diagnostic device [OBD] would be connected to the vehicle's computer, enabling a new key code to be issued to one of the Range Rover fobs in their possession.
Although the thieves at this point had a working key, they did not steal the vehicle at that time. Instead, they installed a tracking device that would enable the gang to track and locate the vehicle in order to steal it at a later date, usually in the early hours of the morning. It is believed this was to minimise the risk to the criminal network of being caught while stealing or driving a stolen vehicle. The vehicle was then driven away from the owner's address to a location where any legitimate tracking device on the vehicle was removed.
Police launched an investigation after establishing a link between a number of the crimes, and subsequently arrested Arshad, Iqbal and Bhamjee in a stolen Range Rover. A garage controlled by Arshad and Bhamjee was found to contain tracking devices, Range Rover fobs, jammers and GPS 'cloaking' devices.
Four vehicles have now been recovered by police in containers ready for export at both Felixstowe and Southampton docks and returned to their owners.
Detective Constable Julian Thompson of Waltham Forest police said: "These offences caused distress and huge inconvenience to a number of victims across London and I'm pleased that these men have now been convicted.
"Whilst this type of crime is sophisticated in nature, there are certain things car owners can do to reduce the risk of becoming a victim. I would urge high-value car owners to always double check that their car is locked before leaving it, and consider using a steering-wheel lock device."
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