Gang called themselves ‘Sticky Bandits’ after Home Alone burglars in £1.6m thieving spree

They stole vehicles from the firms, and used others with fake number plates to ferry the material back to their base in Wolverhampton and later sell the metal to scrap dealers. They also filmed some of their raids on their mobile phones, and in one video, members of the gang can be heard laughing while the man recording says: “Sticky bandits. Love it.” Another member filmed a business near a cemetery, and later recorded himself saying in a voice note: “Do you think I’m sad that I made it look like I was mourning on a grave just so I could scope out the building?” Detectives used CCTV and phone records to identify the gang, who were arrested in a series of dawn raids last June. ‘Serious criminality’ Detective Constable Kelly Whyte, from West Midlands Police’s major crime proactive unit, said: “This was serious, organised and professional criminality on an industrial scale, that saw the theft of materials and vehicles valued at more than £1.6 million, not to mention the disruption to business and emotional impact on those affected. “When we identified similarities between the offences, we launched a major investigation based on forensics, analysis of mobile phones and CCTV which meant we were able to move in and arrest the gang in dawn raids last June.”