TIMES: MEMBERS of a London-based car theft gang whose million-pound spree included a raid on a Box garage have been jailed for a total of eight years.

Wiltshire police were instrumental in smashing the gang, who they say targeted 20 garages in the county during an 18-month blitz across the south of England.

These included a £50,000 heist at St Martin's Nissan garage in Bath Road, Box in April 2003 and detectives believe the thefts between April 2002 and September 2003 netted £4m.

At Southampton Crown Court on Thursday gang members were jailed for offences totalling just over £600,000.

Samuel Egbo and Melissa John admitted conspiracy to burgle charges for their part in 12 raids that netted 38 cars worth £613,958 including Mercedes, BMWs and Chrysler Jeeps. Egbo, 25, was jailed for five years while his ex-partner John, 24, was sent down for two years.

Anthony Hawes, 21, was jailed for 15 months for attempting to steal a car from a Salisbury Toyota garage last May.

A fourth member, Daniel Browne, 22, admitted conspiracy to burgle charges at an earlier hearing, but failed to appear on Thursday. A warrant has been issued for his arrest.

Sentencing Egbo, Judge John Boggis said crack cocaine addiction had led him into the conspiracy, but he had become a major player in the gang.

A spokesman for the Crown Prosecution Service said the gang had been investigated for burglaries totalling £1.2m, but the CPS had decided to accept the guilty pleas already given.

Det Insp Matt Johnson, of Salisbury CID, was part of a six-man Wiltshire police team that snared the gang.

He said: "We were quite pleased with the sentences. It was a good end to a successful operation as far as we are concerned.

"It was a Wiltshire operation organised from Salisbury. We targeted four members of the gang for conspiracy to burgle.

They targeted dealerships throughout the south of England and we had about 20 in Wiltshire."

DI Johnson said the investigation, codenamed Operation Acute, lasted about six months and paid tribute to his colleague DC Mike Thorrowgood.

He said: "They had been tagged in other police areas for one-off offences such as aggravated trespass. It was quite complicated and no one got to grips with it, but Mike thought something had to be done and was crucial in securing this result."

In Box two Ford Focuses, a Ford Puma, an Audi Quattro, a Mini Cooper and a Subaru Impreza were stolen in a raid police believe took just a matter of minutes.