Men who tried to hide from police jailed for burglary offences in Ockham
Three men have been sentenced after they pled guilty to burglary.
On October 10, a homeowner returned to their house around 9:30pm in Ockham to discover they’d been burgled.
Surrey Police said the homeowner had left their house early for work and returned home to find that their gun safe which contained an air rifle, and cash had been taken.
Earlier that day at approximately 5pm, officers were on New Haw Road in Addlestone when they noticed a white Ford Transit van drive through a red light, which was marked for outstanding offences in the Met. They indicated for the van to stop and pull over, but they did not, so officers pursued them.
Surrey Police said three men were inside the van, which was being driven dangerously through Chertsey and Lyne. The men decamped and abandoned the van at Wentworth Golf Club, Virginia Water.
National Police Air Service (NPAS) and Dog Units were deployed and with the help of thermal imaging from NPAS, the three men were found hiding in the undergrowth a short distance from where they had abandoned the van.
Surrey Police said Charlie Stewart, the driver of the vehicle had no drivers licence, Ben Belhaj-Farhat was found in possession of cannabis, Junior Suban had £255 cash on him. All three men were arrested for conspiracy to burgle and were taken to custody.
When officers searched the van, they found the gun safe, and a personalised birthday card from a well-known card retailer was found in the van which had pictures of one of the men on it. Investigators were able to link the suspects to the burglary that had taken place earlier in the day.
Investigating Officer, Detective Constable Josh Hillman said: “Stewart was driving extremely dangerously, including on the wrong side of the road at times. Thankfully, no one was hurt, especially as he does not have a driving licence.”
“This was a great result off the back of some excellent teamwork involving officers on the ground, police dogs, and NPAS. This teamwork enabled us to locate all three men and bring them to justice.”
Appearing at Guildford Crown Court on November 28, Surrey Police said the men were sentenced:
- The driver of the vehicle, Charlie Stewart, 37, of Aboyne Drive, Raynes Park was sentenced to 29 months in prison for burglary of a dwelling, dangerous driving and driving without insurance.
- Ben Belhaj-Farhat, 38, of no fixed abode, and Junior Suban, 40, of Sullivan Court, Fulham, were also sentenced to 29 months in prison each. All three were also ordered to pay £228 in costs.