Three men have been jailed for conspiring to commit over 30 burglaries which included guns being stolen and sold on to criminal gangs in Birmingham following a West Midlands Regional Organised Crime Unit (ROCU) investigation.

A number of these offences took place in villages including Henley-in-Arden, Ullenhall, Claverdon and Wilmcote in South Warwickshire between August and December 2018.

“A house burglary can be a traumatic experience to the victim and their family, and the trauma goes far beyond any financial or sentimental loss from the items taken or damaged during the offence.

The individual impact varies and is personal to those affected – it can leave homeowners feeling scared and vulnerable in their own home, the very place they should feel most secure.

The offences in Warwickshire were unsophisticated and frightening in nature, whereby those responsible were wearing balaclavas and smashing their way in to properties usually in the middle of the day. They were also seemingly unconcerned with whether anyone was actually in the property at the time and willing to confront anyone who was.

Normally a burglary will directly impact the targeted house and on occasions the neighbouring properties. However, the volume and nature of these offences had a much wider impact on the local area, with local communities feeling concerned.

Hopefully today’s outcome will reassure our communities that we take offences of this nature very seriously and will work with our border forces to investigate offences and ensure those responsible are bought to justice for their actions.”

Inspector Dave Kettle, Warwickshire Police

Kadim Shah, John Shorthouse and Roshan Singh repeatedly travelled to rural areas in Warwickshire, Worcestershire and South Birmingham, breaking into homes and stealing high value items such as cars, watches and – in some locations – legitimately owned shotguns.

A number of the shotguns were recovered in the West Midlands area and it’s thought they were being supplied to organised crime groups across the region.

In collaboration with regional forces, the trio were all arrested in December last year after intelligence-led warrants were executed at their home addresses.

A considerable amount of stolen property, balaclavas, tools and weapons were recovered from all three homes and around £4,000 worth of cocaine was also found in Shorthouse’s family address.

Following their arrests, CCTV and clothing linked the three to further offences, and phone analysis between the group revealed a picture of their criminal enterprise. Property recovered was able to link them to a burglary back in March 2018 but evidence gathered showed the groups offending started to rapidly increase from August 2018.

In total, police were able to link the trio to 30 separate burglaries and two robberies as well as a ram-raid at a Co- op, which saw the group use a car to drag a cash machine from the premises. The ATM was later found in Calthorpe Park, Balsall Heath smashed open with an estimated £40,000 cash taken. Police also recovered a stolen Land Rover and Mercedes van used in the Co- op raid.

All three men pleaded guilty to conspiracy to burgle, two counts of robbery and possession of firearms. Shorthouse also pleaded guilty to possession with intent to supply cocaine and both him and Shah pleaded guilty to driving whilst disqualified.

On 23rd July 2019, they were sentenced to a total of 47 years and 10 months in prison.

Their sentences are:
• Roshan Singh of South Acre Avenue, Birmingham has been jailed for 16 years
• John Shorthouse of Greenford Road, Yardley, has been jailed for 16 years 8 months
• Kadim Shah, age 21 of Lewis Road, Stirchley, has been jailed for 15 years 2 months

Crime prevention advice for Warwickshire residents can be found on our dedicated Crime Prevention page, with advice sheets which can be downloaded and shared. 

Report all burglaries, including attempted burglaries, to Warwickshire Police on 101. In an emergency, dial 999.