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Laughing crook must repay £1 of £1.6m raids
Birmingham Mail
|May 30, 2025
A MEMBER of a burglary gang who called themselves the “Sticky Bandits” following a series of multimillion pound raids has been ordered to pay back just £1.
Adam Shakespeare, 31, was part of the five-strong group who named themselves after the Home Alone characters as they targeted businesses across the West Midlands.
The brazen gang escaped with £1.6 million worth of machines and metals after ransacking industrial units and factories in 2022.
They targeted the firms mainly over the Christmas period, much like the bungling pair of burglars from the hit movies.
After raiding one premises, they spray painted the words 'Ha ha. Merry Xmas, Happy New Year' on the floor before torching a lorry they had used.
Ten firms in Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Dudley, Walsall, Bilston, Perry Barr, Brierley Hill, Kidderminster, Tamworth and Shrewsbury were hit.
They were jailed for more than 30 years in total at Wolverhampton Crown Court in November after admitting conspiracy to burgle commercial premises.
This story is from the May 30, 2025 edition of Birmingham Mail.
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