Justice has finally caught up with a member of an organised crime gang who stole more than £100,000 worth of cash, jewellery and gold when they raided three homes in one day.

Michael Casey was the driver for the travelling gang of criminals who targeted members of the Asian community to steal their family heirlooms and valuables.

The then-teenagers drove the armed gang around Middlesbrough as they forced entry to the houses and threatened anyone they came into contact with.

Nicoleta Alistari, prosecuting, said: “The burglars were armed, carrying knives and sticks, on one occasion violence was used on one of the occupiers to get her to say where valuables were kept in the house.

“The burglars were good at covering their tracks, they were face coverings, gloves, used burner phones, a stolen car and cloned number plates to avoid detection.

“They operated quickly with the three burglaries carried out within a short time of each other. They also targeted addresses far away from their normal base, which was a traveller site in Leicestershire.

“In light of the high value of the goods stolen, the prosecution says the burglars had planned and knew which properties to attack.”

Miss Alistari said the gang got away with more than £100,000 worth of gold jewellery and personal items that had been stolen during the burglaries on January 3, 2020.

The court heard how the 23-year-old and his cousin, Daniel Casey, were spotted acting suspiciously at a McDonald’s takeaway when they tried to pay with a £50 note just days after they had carried the three burglaries.

A police chase ensued before Casey crashed the stolen Seat Ateca into VW Passat and they managed to flee the scene but the defendant left fingerprints on the car bonnet. Two mobile phones were recovered and found to belong to the Casey cousins.

Michael CaseyMichael Casey (Image: Cleveland Police)

Casey, of Golf Course Lane, Leicester but formerly of Thornaby, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit burglary, dangerous driving and handling stolen goods.

Khadim Al Hassan, mitigating, said the father-of-three was just a teenager when he was involved in the burglaries.

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He added: “All the other individuals were much older than him, even his cousin was 31 at the time and had a substantially longer record.

“He has expressed remorse at getting involved in the offending.”

Judge Tom Mitchell jailed the defendant for a total of three years and banned him from driving for 43 months.

He said: “In January 2020, three family properties in Middlesbrough were attacked. The facts are awful some of the properties were occupied at the time and violence was used by those who went in and they were armed.”

 Daniel Casey, from Leicester, was sentenced to 20 months imprisonment for the conspiracy charge in February last year.