Two “professional” burglars who disguised themselves with balaclavas and stole cigarettes worth £27,000 during raids at five stores in Suffolk have each been jailed for four years.
Police caught up with Jamie Channon and Tony Moore after locating them through a tracking device in a stolen car they used to carry out a burglary at a Co-op store in Leiston, Ipswich Crown Court heard.
During a police chase the stolen car reached speeds of up to 120mph and was driven the wrong way along the A14 towards Bury St Edmunds before the men abandoned it at Creeting St Mary.
Channon and Moore ran off but Channon's DNA was discovered on a balaclava found in the area by a police dog and in the boot of the stolen car officers found a duvet cover containing stolen cigarettes.
Moore's DNA was found on the duvet cover and both defendants were later arrested.
Channon, 40, of Chadfields, Tilbury, and Moore, 38, of Sycamore Close, Tilbury, admitted conspiracy to commit burglaries at convenience stores between September 1 and October 14 2019.
The burgled premises included the Spar shop in Melton Road, Woodbridge, and Co-op stores in Thurston, Great Cornard, Hadleigh and Leiston.
A Shell garage on the A11 in Norfolk was also targeted.
Daniel Taylor, prosecuting, said that on September 13 the manager of the Spar shop in Melton Road, Woodbridge, arrived at the premises to find the shutter had been pulled halfway up.
CCTV footage showed that at 1.30am a black car had pulled up outside the store and two men wearing balaclavas and dark clothing had got out and forced the shutter control box open.
They had driven off without entering the premises after they were unable to fully open the shutter.
Ninety minutes later a staff member at the Co-op store on Thurston discovered damage to a window at the front of the store.
The cigarette counter had been forced open and cigarettes and tobacco worth £714 had been stolen.
One hour later the manager of the Co-op in Great Cornard was contacted by an alarm company and discovered the premises had been entered and the cigarette kiosk had been forced open.
Tobacco and cigarettes worth £3,200 had been stolen.
On October 11 burglars targeted the Co-op store in Hadleigh and stole cigarettes and tobacco worth £6,245. Two men were seen on CCTV using a crowbar to enter a side entrance.
On October 13 a Shell garage on the A11 in Norfolk was targeted and cigarettes worth £3,815 were stolen.
On October 14 a window in a cafe area of the Co-op in Leiston was smashed and cigarettes, crisps and razors were stolen.
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