Break-in gang is jailed for 'audacious' heist of counterfeit cigarettes

SUSPICIOUS MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC ALERTED POLICE TO RAIDERS

- By JOSHUA HARTLEY

SIX Nottinghamshire men have been sentenced after police uncovered a bold heist involving about £250,000 worth of counterfeit goods.

Mitchell Edge, Marley Beales, Mark Higgins, Simon Upton, Christopher Cope and Jobe Cope were all involved in a burglary plot in rural Chester in August 2024.

Shortly after 2am on Friday, August 16 last year police were called by a member of the public who reported a suspicious man in a White Citroen Relay van in Devis Road, Knutsford. Officers from Cheshire Constabulary then spotted a man running away, but were unable to catch him.

The fugitive was later identified by police officers, who had captured him on their car's dashcam footage, as Higgins.

The van was found nearby, containing £250,000 of counterfeit cigarettes stolen from premises on the outskirts of Chester.