Tracker leads Rotherham Police to record drugs haul

TRACKER, the UK’s leading stolen vehicle recovery system operator, led Rotherham police to a record haul of heroin and crack cocaine, a machine gun and ammunition.

Officers hunting a stolen Volkswagen Golf followed the TRACKER signal from the car to a lock-up garage containing the vehicle. When they found the car it contained drugs with a street value of approximately £1 million and a Russian-made machine gun.

As a result of the find, 23-year-old Christopher Earl, appeared before Sheffield Crown Court last month and was sentenced to 11 years in prison after pleading guilty to several charges including possession of class A drugs with intent to supply, and possession of a firearm and ammunition.

Detective Inspector Eddie Murphy, said: “This is a great result. TRACKER led us directly to the stolen car. What started out as a routine track to find a stolen car developed into the single biggest seizure of class A drugs in Rotherham’s history. It also led to the confiscation of a lethal machine gun and 19 rounds of ammunition and rid the streets of Rotherham of a previously unknown drug dealer.

“The knock-on effect, within the criminal underworld, is immeasurable, too.”

District Operations Manager, Superintendent Keith Lumley, added: “Without the TRACKER device we would never have detected this offence and removed such a threat from the streets of South Yorkshire. TRACKER not only detected the stolen car, but by working with the investigating officers it helped us to compile evidence which led to the arrest and subsequent conviction of Christopher Earl.”

Parita Patel, Marketing Manager for TRACKER Network UK, said: “We recover stolen vehicles everyday, but helping the police to seize a record haul of class A drugs and a machine gun is a great achievement for all.”

The alarm was raised at 7.10pm on Friday, November 10, last year when the VW Golf R32, worth £25,000, was stolen by the thief who broke into the owner’s home in Reinshaw, Derbyshire, and stole its keys along with various other items.

Rotherham police tracked the car to an unlocked garage in Kimberworth, Rotherham at 8.50am on Saturday, November 11 - less than 14 hours after its disappearance. On investigating, officers discovered holdalls and a shoebox containing more than eight and a half kilos of heroin and 82 grams of crack cocaine. The machine gun, together with two clips, one of which contained 19 rounds of live 9mm ammunition, was nearby.