An Albanian crime gang has been jailed after using property website Rightmove to scout luxury homes for burglary.
Gang member Endrit Nikolli began a relationship with British woman Jade Tubb, who compared the pair to notorious outlaws Bonnie and Clyde, as the group stole jewellery and designer goods worth up to £3million
The six-strong gang carried out at least 59 burglaries, targeting high-end properties across eastern Cheshire.
They gained entry by using ladders to access first-floor windows and balconies.
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The court heard the gang deliberately selected homes near open countryside or woodland, with easy access to parking to aid their escape.
Kristian Gropcaj, 30, George Pepa, 31, Krisjian Dedndreaj, 28, Sidorjan Lleshi, 26, and Tubb, 33, have now been sentenced following a multi-force police investigation dating back to October 2024.
Derbyshire Police, Nottinghamshire Police and Staffordshire Police worked alongside Cheshire Police to probe a series of burglaries in Macclesfield, Prestbury, Weston and Willaston.
Sentencing the group, Judge Patrick Thompson said: “Clearly the houses were targeted in that they may yield high value items.
The gang was responsible for at least 59 burglaries
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“The burglaries took place under the cover of darkness, with occupants present. Many properties suffered considerable damage and ransacking.”
He added the burglars had shattered the “foundations of safety and security” for their victims, with children left too frightened to return to their bedrooms.
Officers raided a number of addresses linked to the gang, recovering 13 designer handbags and 14 watches.
They also seized several mobile phones, which contained hundreds of images of stolen items.
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PICTURED: Lleshi posing with money believed to have been burgled
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Detective Chief Inspector Dave Worthington said the group used Rightmove to identify their next targets.
“They used Google and Rightmove to help select targets as Rightmove can include floor plans of properties, which is quite shrewd,” he told the Daily Mail.
Dedndreaj and Pepa, both of Crabtree Road, Walsall, were each jailed for nine years for conspiracy to commit burglary, alongside concurrent sentences for conspiracy to possess criminal property.
Gropcaj, of Gas Street, Birmingham, was jailed for 10 years for the same offences.
The investigation was done in collaboration in Derbyshire Police, Nottinghamshire Police, Staffordshire Police, with the arrests made by Cheshire Constabulary
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The court heard Pepa’s involvement was limited to five of the burglaries.
Lleshi, of Durlstone Drive, Sheffield, was jailed for 10 years and nine months for conspiracy to commit burglary, one count of burglary, and conspiracy to possess criminal property.
Tubb, a medical student, pleaded guilty to possession of criminal property and arranged vehicles to transport the gang to their targets.
She avoided an immediate custodial sentence and was given a one-year prison term, suspended for two years.
The judge said it was possible she had “thrown away” her medical career.
Following the sentencing, Detective Sergeant Laura Fox of Macclesfield Proactive CID said: “Throughout our investigation it has been clear that the gang had absolutely no regard for the impact that their offences would have on the victims.
"Instead, they regularly gloated about their crimes and shared images of ill-gotten gains.”
While some items were recovered, the majority are believed to have been sold on.
Cheshire Police has now launched an appeal to trace the owners of hundreds of suspected stolen items recovered during the investigation.
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