Harold Hill crooks nabbed for luxury car theft spree worth £3.3 million! George Abzhandadze, 51, and Davit Nakashidze, 46, were locked up for their part in a slick car theft gang ripping off high-end motors across Essex and beyond.
Chop Shop Crackdown After Local Tip-Off
The gang’s secret car-stripping den was busted at a remote unit in Paul’s Farm, Little Bardfield, following a tip-off from a concerned neighbour in 2024. Essex Police uncovered a sophisticated chop shop churning through stolen Range Rovers, Jaguars, and Mercedes-Benz models.
Undercover cops watched the site for 115 days, catching 47 luxury vehicles being driven in and dismantled piece by piece. The thieves used high-tech relay attacks with military-grade signal jammers to unlock and hotwire cars without keys.
Gangsters Sentenced at Chelmsford Crown Court
On Thursday 22 May, all four men pleaded guilty and got hefty jail terms:
- Davit Nakashidze – 4 years, 6 months
- Revaz Mumladze, 45 (no fixed address) – 4 years, 5 months
- Lukas Meskauskas, 29 of Harlow – 5 years, 10 months. Meskauskas handled payments and liaised with gang bosses. He’s a known repeat offender linked to chop shop crimes.
- Unnamed 4 years, 5 months
Car Parts Trafficked Across The Globe
- Three containers of stripped parts were found – one valued at £40,000 was stopped before shipping
- One container reached Dubai
- Another was seized during police raids at the site
Fugitive On The Run In Australia
Michael Casey, 24, skipped court and is believed to have fled the UK for Australia on an Irish passport. Sentenced in absentia to 2 years, 8 months, Judge Alexander Mills slammed Casey’s brazen flight:
“All of this shows a complete disregard for court order and respect for the law.”
Police Praise Public’s Role In Takedown
The judge stressed how crucial the crackdown on signal jammer use was to stopping this organised crime ring:
“This enterprise could not have operated in this conveyor belt manner without these illegal devices.”
The chop shop was rented by ringleader Waheed Yousef of Ilford, who, along with two others, has admitted charges. They’ll face a Newton hearing next month to decide their fate.
