Recaptured car-cloning gang leader O'Donnell jailed

The ringleader of a car-cloning gang was jailed for nine and a half years today, just hours after being caught by police at a holiday park while on the run.

Michael O’Donnell, 29, from Salford, Greater Manchester in England, was on remand awaiting sentencing when he took a razor to his ear in his cell at Forest Bank Prison in the early hours of May 2.

An ambulance was called to take him from the Salford jail to nearby Hope Hospital but it was ambushed on the way.

Four masked men pulled up in a stolen BMW and smashed its windows with baseball bats and bolt-cutters, freeing O’Donnell.

He was finally recaptured at Pontin’s in Southport, Merseyside, at 12.30am today ahead of his scheduled sentencing date at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Street.

O’Donnell was the head of a seven-strong gang which stole luxury vehicles worth more than £1m (€1.2m), which were cloned with false number plates and accompanied with fake documents.

They were then sold on to unsuspecting members of the public at the roadside or through the Auto Trader magazine and website.

In July 2009, officers in Stockport swooped on a number of homes as part of Operation Banker, a 12-month intelligence operation.

O’Donnell was convicted of conspiracy to convert criminal property following a trial.

Six other men today received sentences of between two and a half years and four and a half years.

Detective Inspector Derrick Spencer said: “This is a fantastic result both for all the officers who have worked tirelessly for more than a year to smash this car-cloning ring, but also for the unsuspecting victims who were duped into buying these stolen cars.

“A lot of people have been left severely out of pocket – and without a vehicle - thanks to these men as the cars had to be seized and impounded as part of the investigation. I hope seeing them behind bars will give them some peace of mind.

“It is clear this gang had an orchestrated plan and over time this criminal enterprise became second nature to them – a slick operation with each member of the gang playing a specific and well-defined role. Given the sheer volume of offences, it is equally clear they had no intention of slowing down as they were making considerable sums of cash through this shady enterprise.

“The arrogance and greed of this gang has come back to haunt them thanks to police. Our officers have been working extremely hard to secure enough evidence to convict these men and stop them from conning any more innocent members of the public.

“Greater Manchester Police will continue to target anyone involved in this sort of criminality and I would encourage anyone who thinks they may have bought a cloned car to call us immediately.”