Two men have been sentenced for their involvement in a series of burglaries across Cheshire, including Warrington.
On Tuesday 3 February 2026, Denis Puka, of Parliament Street, Credition, Devon, and Erisjan Laska, of Eccles Street, Sheffield, appeared at Chester Crown Court.
Puka, 28, and Laska, 29, were sentenced to 56 months each after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit burglary.
An investigation was launched into a series of burglaries in the Warrington, Northwich and Knutsford areas of Cheshire in June 2025.
The offences took place at addresses in:
• Half Acre Lane, Warrington (Friday 6 June at some time between 9.30pm and 11pm)
• Legh Road, Knutsford (Friday 6 June at 11.31pm)
• Pole Lane, Northwich (Saturday 7 June at some time between 12.19am and 12.39am)
• Park Lane, Warrington (Saturday 7 June at some time between 9.49pm and 10.16pm)
• Linnards Lane, Northwich (Saturday 7 June at 11.32pm)
All of the offences involved the offenders forcing entry via the first floor by scaling drainpipes, using ladders, or standing on each other’s shoulders. Enquiries revealed the masked individuals would park a vehicle nearby and arrive to the target addresses on foot, bringing tools with them and walkie-talkies to communicate, clearly showing a high level of planning and preparation.
Despite this, the offenders were mostly unsuccessful in stealing items from the addresses due to being disturbed at each incident, with the only known stolen property being two watches – a Rolex and an Omega.
Following a review of CCTV, a vehicle was identified as being in the area at the time of each offence. Enquiries revealed that the car – a Seat Leon – had been brought to Warrington from Sheffield on Thursday 5 June on the back of a flatbed vehicle. Over the time period that the offences were carried out, the Seat Leon was placed on three different sets of cloned plates, captured on CCTV and ANPR.
The car was recovered by police in Warrington on Sunday 15 June. The vehicle was searched and inside was clothing and tools matching those worn and used by the offenders at a number of the residential properties. Mobile phones were also inside the vehicle which revealed search history showing directions to the target addresses.
Further enquiries showed the vehicle at a store in Warrington, where the occupants purchased tools matching those used in committing some of the offences and later recovered from the Seat.
Puka and Laska were identified from these enquiries. Puka was arrested in Surrey on Wednesday 2 July 2025, while Laska was arrested in Sheffield on Thursday 3 July 2025. They were both later charged with the offences.
Police Constable Simon Gibson said: “Puka and Laska thought they could travel hundreds of miles to Cheshire to trick our officers and get away with this series of burglaries – but they seriously underestimated us.
“The fact that they have both pleaded guilty and have now been sentenced demonstrates the amount of evidence which was stacked against them, thanks to our dedicated teams who worked tirelessly to track them down and secure charges.
“As this case demonstrates, there is nowhere you can hide; if you travel to Cheshire with the intention of committing crime, we will utilise all the tools at our disposal until we find you and hold you responsible.”
1 Comment
Well done to police for catching them.