Two jailed over 114 burglaries

Two Polish nationals who targeted homes in Shropshire and Mid Wales during a £300,000 burglary spree which lasted more than 12 months have been jailed for seven years.

Homes in Shrewsbury, Newtown, Welshpool, Abermule and Montgomery were among those raided by Krzysztof Karmaciuk and Ryszard Elert during their spree.

Karmaciuk, 35, and Elert, 37, both of no fixed abode, admitted carrying out 114 burglaries from Wiltshire through Gwent, Dyfed-Powys, North Wales, West Mercia and Cheshire at a hearing at Mold Crown Court.

Karmaciuk admitted 110 of the burglaries and Elert 67 between October 2010 and December last year.

They will automatically be deported when they have served their sentences.

Stolen property amounted to £318,000–£77,000 in West Mercia, £51,000 in Gwent, £54,500 in Dyfed-Powys, £5,000 in Cheshire and £130,000 in North Wales. All property in Wiltshire has been recovered.

Mr Nicholas Sefton, prosecuting, told the court the pair deliberately selected properties in rural areas.

Many were late at night, some in occupied properties.

They were linked to the burglaries through finger prints and DNA, the court was told. And the pair were caught when police stopped a grey Saab in Mid Wales.

Judge Niclas Parry yesterday commended the six police forces which co-operated to catch the professional gang of burglars under Operation Yap.

"It is an example of how co-operation can undoubtedly lead to the crucial detection of serious crime."

Both men were painters and decorators who turned to crime when work dried up.

Giles Hayes, for Karmaciuk, said his client had led a law-abiding life in the UK until his health deteriorated, and his relationship came to an end. Andrew Green, for Elert, said that when work dried up he was tempted to turn to crime.

By Anwen Evans