Burglars who stole £1m set weekly gold targets

A gang who stole £1m worth of goods from wealthy homes across the UK set weekly targets of how much gold they wanted to steal.

They were caught by Cheshire Police, who had linked several burglaries in which ladders were used to get inside homes and cash, jewellery, designer handbags and watches were stolen.

Endrit Nikolli, 27, Kristian Gropcaj, 30, George Lleshaj, 31, and Krisjian Dedndreaj, 28, from the West Midlands, and Sidorjan Lleshi, 26, of Sheffield, all pleaded guilty to the burglaries at Chester Crown Court.

They are due to be sentenced on 20 February.

The gang, originally from Albania, were linked to 44 burglaries across the UK including eight in Cheshire, two in Middlesbrough, nine in Derbyshire, two in Leicestershire, five in Nottinghamshire, seven in Staffordshire, two in Warwickshire and three in Birmingham, three in Worcestershire, two in Hereford and one in Shropshire.

Detectives found messages in which Nikolli and his partner Jade Tubb described themselves as Bonnie and Clyde.

The investigation against the gang began in October 2024. The burglaries linked by the ladders in Cheshire were then linked to other areas through footwear marks left at the scenes.

Number plate technology also found a red Ford Focus insured to Gropcaj present at many of the burglaries and a hire car booked by Tubb had been used during others.

Telephone records showed Gropcaj had been in regular contact with Nikolli, Dedndreaj, and Lleshaj and that the four men had been meeting on a regular basis at a coffee shop in the Jewellery Quarter in Birmingham.

Traces of DNA from Nikolli had also been found at the scene of a burglary in Staffordshire.

Messages showed there was another member of the gang – Lleshi.

During raids in Walsall, Sutton Coldfield and Birmingham, officers recovered 13 designer handbags, along with 14 watches worth almost £17,000.

Analysis of mobile phones found hundreds of images of more stolen items and Google Maps links correlating with the burglaries.

Police said the estimated value of the items stolen is in excess of £1m, with the vast majority believed to have been sold on.

All of the gang admitted conspiracy to commit burglary and to possess criminal property with Nikolli and Lleshi also pleading guilty to an additional count of burglary, in relation to two burglaries in Staffordshire in March 2024 and December 2023.

Jade Tubb, Nikolli's partner, of Walsall, also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess criminal property and is due to be sentenced at the same hearing.

Det Sgt Laura Fox said: ""The gang specifically targeted wealthy victims, with the aim of stealing as much high value property as possible.

"Between them, they even set weekly targets for the amount of gold that they wanted to steal.

"Nikolli, Gropcaj, Dedndreaj, Lleshaj and Lleshi were all responsible for conducting the burglaries, while Tubb was happy to spend their ill gotten gains."

She said the gang "regularly gloated about their crimes and shared images of ill-gotten gains".

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