Dziugas Klinavicius has become the fifth member of an organised crime gang to be jailed for his part in a campaign of vehicle thefts.
Between January and March 2025, a Lithuanian Organised Crime Group (OCG) targeted high value vehicles, using keyless relay attacks across North Wales and Cheshire, cumulating in the theft of 8 vehicles and attempts on a further 5 totalling a value of £320,000.
The gang primarily targeted Mercedes and BMW vehicles across Llandudno, Llandudno Junction, Penrhyn Bay, Abergele, Rhyl, Prestatyn, Northwich and Crewe, utilising sophisticated keyless relay equipment used to intercept signals emitted from the owner’s car keys within the property, and then activating GPS signal jammers to prevent any vehicle trackers emitting a signal.
The offenders would often cover CCTV and doorbell security cameras with duct tape, and make use of cloned number plates of the same make and model of the vehicles they targeted.
DNA evidence obtained from duct tape panels left behind on a victim’s CCTV camera, along with telecommunications data, and messages from encrypted chat services identified the thieves as Lithuanian nationals Tomas Politovas and Dziugas Klinavicius.
When a Mercedes vehicle was stolen from an address in Llandudno on the 7th March 2025, initial enquiries established the vehicle had travelled to the Norfolk area on cloned number plates.
When officers from Norfolk Constabulary raided an industrial unit in the Kings Lynn area later that day, the Mercedes was recovered, partially stripped with parts placed on pallets and wrapped ready to be exported.
Three other Lithuanian men – Rytis Ardavicius, Arnas Jankauskas and Stasys Venckus were arrested within the unit. They were later charged for conspiring to receive stolen goods. Rytis was sentenced to 46 weeks imprisonment and deported, Stasys 27 months imprisonment and deported, and Arnas 27 months imprisonment and deported.
Fifteen days later, local officers patrolling a new-build estate in the early hours disturbed offenders attempting to steal a BMW from a driveway in Prestatyn.
The officers gave chase and when one of the original suspects – Tomas Politovas was captured, he was in possession of signal jamming equipment, duct tape, cloned number plates, tools and a mobile phone.
Politovas was charged with conspiring to commit vehicle thefts across North Wales and Cheshire. His mobile phone held the key to an encrypted messenger app used by the OCG to communicate, research and plan vehicle thefts nationally.
Politovas pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 4 years imprisonment, and has since been deported.
A nationwide manhunt then ensued to arrest the final gang member Dziugas Klinavicius, which culminated in his capture by officers from Greater Manchester Police, after attempting to flee a theft in the back of a taxi in the Oldham area on the 29th of July this year.
Klinavicius was transferred to custody in North Wales and charged with conspiring to commit vehicle thefts and use of apparatus to interfere with wireless telegraphy.
He plead guilty in Mold Crown Court on the 28th August 2026 and was sentenced today to 3 years and 9 months, with the judge referring deportation matters to the Home Office.
Speaking after sentencing, Detective Constable Ash Davies said: “This was a lengthy and complex investigation, in which it was established that Klinavicius played an integral role in the gang’s criminality.
“The sentence imposed upon Klinavicius today reflects the seriousness of his offending.
“Car theft is not a victimless crime. Acquisitive offending remains a force priority because we know of the devastating effect it can have on victims.
“As in this case, we’ll continue to dismantle the organised criminal groups behind car thefts by identifying the people, patterns of offending and the places involved in these crimes and work with colleagues in other forces, showing that we will stop at nothing to tackle this issue.”
