Lithuanian Man Jailed for Role in £300,000 Stolen Car Parts Ring

A Lithuanian man has been sentenced to 30 months in prison and faces deportation for his role in an organized crime network that dealt in stolen car parts valued at over £300,000.

Osvaldas Ubarevicius, 31, was apprehended after being found with dismantled car parts from high-value vehicles that had been stolen the same morning. Police stopped the stolen van he was using, which contained the parts, in Hertfordshire. The van itself had also been reported stolen.

Ubarevicius was arrested and subsequently charged with conspiring to dishonestly receive stolen goods and possessing criminal property. He pleaded guilty to these charges.

Investigators discovered the chop shop operation on farmland near Malmesbury, Wiltshire, following a report from a private tracking company on April 22. An aerial view of the site revealed a Porsche Taycan electric sports saloon deconstructed into parts, resembling an Airfix model kit.

At Winchester Crown Court, Ubarevicius was sentenced to 30 months imprisonment. He is expected to be deported following the completion of his sentence.

DC Sue McCartney, the investigating officer, stated that the operation involved at least £325,000 worth of stolen vehicle parts, with their value likely to increase significantly once sold. She highlighted Ubarevicius's important role in the network, which profited from the theft and dismantling of vehicles, causing substantial financial loss and distress to victims.

McCartney commended the collaboration between different police departments and the company that initially reported the lock-up, as well as the expertise of the Forensic Collision Investigation Unit in examining and recovering evidence. She noted that wider inquiries are ongoing to identify other individuals involved and disrupt this type of organized criminality.