Local News · Wiltshire-wide
Jail and deportation for man linked to £325,000 Malmesbury car part scheme
By Swindon Now Editorial Team · Published
A 31-year-old man has been jailed for 30 months after being caught running an operation to dismantle stolen high-value vehicles near Malmesbury.
A man has been jailed and will face deportation following a police investigation into a sophisticated criminal network operating from a rural site near Malmesbury. Osvaldas Ubarevicius, 31, was sentenced at Winchester Crown Court to 30 months imprisonment after being found guilty of conspiring to dishonestly receive stolen goods and possessing criminal property.
The operation, which was uncovered in April 2026, saw hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of high-value vehicle parts being stockpiled at a lock-up on farmland for eventual export overseas. Wiltshire Police were alerted to the site after a private tracking company notified them of suspicious activity.
Upon investigating the location, officers discovered what they described as a chop shop, where high-value vehicles were being dismantled. Enquiries led detectives to track a white Sprinter van that had been linked to the site via CCTV. Two days after the initial discovery, the van was intercepted by officers from Hertfordshire Police. The vehicle itself was found to be stolen, and it contained parts from a car that had been reported stolen that same morning.
Investigating officer DC Sue McCartney of the Criminal Investigation Department stated that the operation involved at least £325,000 worth of stolen parts, with the potential value far exceeding that figure once processed for sale. She noted that the criminal activity caused significant financial loss and distress to victims across the region.
DC McCartney praised the collaborative efforts of multiple departments, specifically highlighting the contribution of the Forensic Collision Investigation Unit. The team spent several weeks at the Malmesbury site, meticulously identifying, recovering, and cataloguing the stolen exhibits to ensure the case against those involved was robust.
Following his 30-month sentence, Ubarevicius, a Lithuanian national, will be subject to deportation. Wiltshire Police have confirmed that while this conviction is a significant result, wider enquiries remain ongoing as they work to identify other members of the organised crime group and dismantle the network involved.
Source: Wiltshire Times — Crime · View original