Croydon man jailed for series of golf club raids

golfers gimped

A New Addington man was jailed for three years yesterday for stealing from lockers in golf clubs in 36 raids across 17 counties.

Joe McCaughey, 26, of King Henry’s drive, New Addington was found guilty of conspiracy to burgle at Birmingham Crown Court alongside Daniel Lloyd, 43, of the Holwood Estate, Keston, who was jailed for five years after a three-week trial.

The court heard that full sets of shoes and clothing and equipment worth £750,000 were taken from golf club locker rooms in 2008 and 2009. CCTV images showed them dressed in golfing clothes, chatting to members of the clubs in counties as far afield as Lancashire, Devon, Durham, Kent, Merseyside and Suffolk.

The duo’s raids actually featured on the BBC show Crimewatch in 2010 but they were caught during an investigation by the National Crime Agency (NCA) into an associate of Lloyds.

When officers searched Lloyd’s home and found evidence on his computer of Internet searches for golf club thefts, locker security and lock picking they linked him to the golf club thefts.

Steve Baldwin, NCA Head of Regional Investigations, said: “These men were professional burglars who tried to mask their identities changing their clothes to enter the same clubs over and over again.

“We proved they had stolen equipment from hundreds of golfers, which they disposed of here and overseas.”

“Our focus is now the financial side of the investigation and stripping them of their assets.”

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