Four men jailed after rural thefts across Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire
The incidents involved a string of farming equipment being stolen
Four men have been jailed for their roles in a string of rural thefts across Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire.
The incidents took place between September 3rd and November 25th 2021, and stretched across different counties including Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Warwickshire.
All defendants were sentenced at Reading Crown Court on July 3rd after being convicted for their crimes following a lengthy trial.
63-year-old James Maughan from Wheatley was the first to commit the robberies after stealing several horseboxes from different rural locations across Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Warwickshire.
After stealing the horseboxes, they were eventually transported to the home of both William Stokes Junior and William Stokes Senior, who lived in Wokingham in Berkshire.
During subsequent heists, Maughan also recruited Ameet Saroay from London, as well as Sami Nafa - also from London - to carry out the robberies.
Once horseboxes had been stolen, the Stokes prepared them to be sold and moved them on from their premises as quickly as possible.
Eventually, the horseboxes' owners recognised their stolen items after they were being advertised online.
Thames Valley Police, investigating the incident, went on to track down the location of where they were being kept thanks to a drone.
Officers went on to obtain a warrant to search the Stokes' farm on November 26th and found some of the horseboxes that had been stolen from areas in Warwickshire and Lincolnshire.
Following this, all defendants were later charged by postal requisition on January 2nd, 2024 following a lengthy investigation.
After a trial, a jury found William Stokes Senior, aged 50, guilty of one count of conspiracy to steal and four counts of possessing criminal property at the same court on 11 April, sentencing him to three and a half years in prison.
James Maughan pleaded guilty to once count of conspiracy to steal, and was eventually sentenced to two years and two months in prison.
William Stokes Junior, aged 26, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to steal and five counts of possessing criminal property and was sentenced to one year and eight months in prison, suspended for two years; he was also sentenced to 240 hours of unpaid work.
Ameet Saroay, aged 43, was sentenced to a one-year community order and ordered to complete 100 hours of unpaid work, after pleading guilty to one charge of conspiracy to steal.
The jury also went on to sentence Nafa guilty in absentia to one count of conspiracy to steal, after he had fled the country.
Speaking on the incident, Daniel Smith from Thames Valley Police praised the efforts of officers who had spent three years investigating the group.
"We will never tolerate this offending and we will always work with our partners, both within and outside policing, to continue to make the Thames Valley a hostile area for rural crime," he said.
“We are also appealing for help to find Sami Nafa, who is wanted to failing to appear at court having left the country. Anyone with information on his whereabouts should call 101 or make a report on our website, quoting reference number 43210527868.”