A car thief drove 250 miles from his home to an address in Swansea to steal a car in a “hijack-for-hire” operation, a court heard. Saidas Rimkevičius was equipped with tools, fake license plates and a device to jam the car’s electronic security and ignition systems.

The thief was caught in a luxury Mercedes as it left Swansea in the early hours of the morning by an alert officer who spotted the number plates linked to a different color car registered in London. The victim first discovered his £50,000 Mercedes had been stolen when police told him it had been stopped on the M4.

Swansea Crown Court heard that when the owner of the Mercedes GLS went to bed on the night of October 3 this year, he left his car secure and parked in the garage outside his home in Sketty, Swansea. David Singh, prosecuting, said the next thing the man knew he woke up at 5am the next morning and said his SUV had been stopped on the M4, near Briton Ferry. The vehicle keys were still at the victim’s home.

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The court stopped the Mercedes after a police officer patrolling Oystermouth Road in Swansea noticed early in the morning that the number plate of a passing Mercedes SLK was marked as being associated with a silver vehicle and the one he had just seen. It was dark blue. The officer followed the SUV along the M4 before stopping it near Briton Ferry. The vehicle was driven by trainee driver Rymkevicius, and a search of the luxury SUV revealed another set of fake license plates, tape to protect the plates, tools including screwdrivers, and a “relay” device that allows the vehicle to start and start. vehicle. Mercedez. driven without a key. The number plates attached to the stolen SUV belonged to a vehicle registered in London. The 20-year-old defendant refused to reveal his phone’s PIN code and responded “no comment” to all questions.

Saidas Rimkevicius, of Napier Close, Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, pleaded guilty to robbery and accessory to robbery when he appeared in the dock via video link to be sentenced. He also previously pleaded guilty to driving while disqualified and driving without insurance. In Great Britain, a Lithuanian citizen has no criminal record. Andrew Evans, representing Rymkiewicz, suggested the court follow the recommendations of the pre-sentence report.

Judge Paul Thomas KC said the defendant had traveled more than four hours to get to Swansea on the night in question and that the seizure of the Mercedes was clearly a “seizure by order”. He described the robbery as “sophisticated and brazen” and said it was reasonable to conclude that the defendant was working with others, although prosecutors were unable to move the case forward. The judge said Rimkevicius had been in prison for six weeks and had therefore served the equivalent of three months in prison, adding: “That is probably longer than he planned to be in Swansea when he arrived here.”

With a quarter discount for his guilty plea, the defendant was sentenced to 18 months in prison, of which 18 months for the robbery and three months for being involved in the process together, suspended for two years. In other cases, a six-month probation was applied. Rimkyavičius was also ordered to complete a rehabilitation course and carry out 200 hours of unpaid work, as well as a 12-month driving ban.

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