Two men charged in connection with theft of cars worth £400,000

UPDATED: POLICE investigating the theft of cars worth more than £400,000 across Warrington, Cheshire and Greater Manchester have charged two men.
Three addresses were raided simultaneously at around 6am yesterday.
Mark Strutt, 42 of Glebe Street, Offerton, Stockport; and Alan Dunwoody, 37 of Pewsey Road, Wythenshawe; were arrested when officers raided properties in Greater Manchester in the early hours of yesterday, Thursday 8 October.
They have both subsequently been charged with conspiring to steal and conspiring to commit burglary and appeared at Warrington Magistrates’ Court, via a video link, today (Friday 9 October).
They were remanded in custody and are set to appear at Chester Crown Court on Friday 6 November.
The arrests relate to an investigation into the thefts of 22 cars between August last year and September this year.
The vehicles, worth a total of more than £400,000, were stolen from Warrington, Macclesfield, Disley, Congleton, Bollington, Knutsford, Northwich and Sandbach in Cheshire and from Stockport and Altrincham in Greater Manchester.
Detective Sergeant Dave Jarvis said: “The raids – in Stockport, Wythenshawe and Dukinfield – were carried out as part of Cheshire Constabulary’s ongoing mission to bring those involved in organised crime to justice.
“They followed extensive enquiries regarding a number of burglary and car theft incidents across Cheshire and Greater Manchester.The investigation relates to 18 incidents in which a total of 22 cars were stolen.
“We have been gathering evidence and intelligence behind the scenes and the extensive work has now led to two men from Greater Manchester being arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit burglaries and thefts.
“I hope that this operation reassures communities that we are committed to doing all we can to tackle this type of criminality.”
Officers have carried out extensive searches of the addresses. They have seized three cars as well as car parts.
David Keane, police and crime commissioner for Cheshire, said: “Having your home broken into and your car stolen must be a deeply upsetting experience.
“I would like to thank the detectives and officers involved in this operation to protect Cheshire from organised crime, which is a key focus of my Police and Crime Plan.
“As the county’s police and crime commissioner I know that Cheshire Constabulary does extensive work to stamp out organised crime, which has no place on our communities.”