iPod car theft ringleader jailed

The iPod can store all sorts of data

The ringleader of a car theft gang that was caught out by storing forged documents on an iPod has been jailed for two-and-a-half years.

Oludayo Adeagbo of Charlton, south east London, declared he was "trading crime for Christianity" at his sentencing on Wednesday at Southwark Crown Court.

The gang "hijacked" identities to drive off Jaguars, Mercedes, BMW's and a Porsche, before selling them on.

Adeagbo admitted conspiring to defraud between December 2001 and October 2002.

Mark Fenhalls, prosecuting, told the court: "This was a sophisticated, well thought out, imaginative fraud where potential profits were very substantial."

While he and the others notched up a criminal first in their unorthodox use of the iPod they still ended up facing the music Det Con Philip Plaskett

The gang would "hijack someone else's identity" which would be used to take out a finance agreement on a car.

The car's background was then laundered and forged letters were sent to the HPI group telling them the vehicle was "financially free".

But the gang came unstuck after a local beat officer became suspicious of the luxury cars parked outside a housing estate in Abbey Wood, south-east London.

Several weeks later members of the Vehicle Fraud Unit raided the estate and found a mass of incriminating evidence stored on an iPod.

Four others, who also admitted their part in the scam, were jailed last week.

Tunde Benson, 26, of Plumstead, south-east London, was cleared of any involvement earlier this month.

After Adeagbo's sentencing, Det Con Philip Plaskett said "There is no doubt he was the main man.

"And while he and the others notched up a criminal first in their unorthodox use of the iPod they still ended up facing the music."