Mexican Tourists Jailed For String Of Robberies

Five men and one woman have been convicted of a series of burglaries in Northern England and Scotland.

The six are a group of Mexican tourists who, the court heard, began raiding home’s from Lancaster to Glasgow after they ran out of money during a holiday.

Three were jailed for two years for conspiracy to burgle and three others were sentenced to 14 months at Preston crown court. All six will be deported upon completion of their sentences.

The court heard how the group, made up of four men and a couple, had never met before a chance encounter in a nightclub in London last October.

The group had travelled to Britain to visit sporting arenas such as the Old Trafford, the base of Manchester United's Mexican striker, Javier Hernández, but some of the group spent too much money on alcohol so they devised a plan to embark on a burglary spree in northern England and Scotland, the court heard.

The burglars targeted addresses in Carlisle, Lancaster, Morecambe, Bolton-le-Sands and Strathclyde while the owners were out between November 16 and 21 last year.

A witness spotted the gang during one burglary and they were arrested as they travelled south through Staffordshire.

The police recovered stolen goods, lists of addresses and a satellite navigation system, which mapped out their travel route. A "significant number" of properties in the Strathclyde area were programmed into the equipment, the court was told.

Judge Anthony Russell QC said: "You were all here on holiday from Mexico and chose to commit these serious crimes. They are serious because they involved entering people's homes, searching them and stealing valuable items. There was a significant degree of planning."

The court heard the defendants had no previous criminal record.

(H)