The Press and Journal can today reveal some of the baby faces of the “Grand Theft Auto” gang which has been devastating communities, taunting police and brazenly stealing cars across the north-east.

For more than two years, these youths have been taking vehicles from houses across Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire for sport, then openly boasting about it social media.

And the five pictured today are just the tip of the iceberg – for legal reasons, we are prevented from identifying at least another 10 individuals with outstanding cases which are working their way through the court system.

Police have been targeting a massive range of resources against the gang and say the main ring leaders of this unprecedented crime-wave are now behind bars.

The focus now is on action to stop them reoffending – and to ensure future generations are not influenced by their deeds.

Officers despair that these youths – who they describe as “clever” – could be making something of their lives, instead of getting their kicks by aping the violent Grand Theft Auto computer game.

Chief Superintendent Adrian Watson said: “We have targeted these people in no uncertain terms.

“Some of them have gone so far down that road in their criminality, that we’ve got to the stage where we have to bring them into custody.

“Keeping them there might not be the long-term solution, but it certainly brings respite to communities.

“It equals less pain for people out there who are having their cars stolen, their houses violated, and all the emotion and sadness that brings.”

Mr Watson said it was a major concern to the force that young people were leaving their homes in the middle of the night, with no one questioning or even noticing they were gone.

“There are no control factors, there are no role models – they are kids whose parents don’t know what they are up to,” he said.

“I do understand the complexity of some of their lives and it is why we need to work with families and guardians as early as possible.

“If there are no role models it’s important we get messages out through school. Where there are no guardians – no parental support coming in at the 11th hour to try to stop them – we find that school-based officers and teachers are the role model they’re not finding elsewhere.”

However, Mr Watson said his patience only stretched so far.

“Allow me to be slightly sceptical when I hear them promising that they will turn their life around to get out of jail,” he added.

“The other excuse I don’t buy is that they have nothing else to do. If you look hard enough there is stuff to do. I don’t buy it as an excuse for offending.”

Mr Watson said a great deal of time, effort and resources had come from the police and other agencies across the city, in particular Aberdeen City Council, to try to get to the root of the problem.

“We’ve had some really deep and thought provoking discussions with partner agencies about what we do. We don’t take any of this lightly,” he said.

“We don’t want to lock these kids up – that’s the last thing we want to do. But we’re at that stage now, and you see the dividends when the few who have come to the very end of the scale are brought into custody.”

However, police chiefs are under no illusion that a core of joyriders will re-offend – and when they do, officers will be waiting.

Mr Watson said: “We are turning a corner, but we are not complacent.

“The reality is that one or two will fall back into their ways, and they will face the consequences of that.

“There will be a few we will be ready to deal with and who we will have to re-engage with, to keep the crime figures down and to keep the people of Aberdeen and the north-east safe.”

 

‘They are stealing for nothing more than fun and stupidity’

Car theft is nothing new. But gone are the days when a criminal could easily “hot wire” a vehicle and drive it off into the distance.

Modern cars are so complex, and bristling with electronic security systems, that even breaking the glass can disable the vehicle instantly.

However, in 2013, police were alerted a new breed of motor crime, in which thieves were breaking into houses, stealing car keys while the occupants slept upstairs, then fleeing with the motors from their driveways and speeding off across the city.

It started off small-scale. But the joyriders confidence grew. And by last year, a gang of thieves had graduated to stealing a £100,000 Lamborghini and a BMW X5 from the driveway of one of the most exclusive properties in Aberdeen.

Three teenagers also drove off in sports cars from the mansion of oil tycoon Sean Dreelan, despite being too young to drive at the time.

One masked youth – who is “addicted” to driving fast cars – even led police on a high speed chase through Aberdeenshire in a stolen motor, eventually abandoning the BMW X5 on the platform of Inverurie train station.

Police said they were astonished no one was killed.

And as the people behind these offences were traced and detained, it emerged they were just “kids” – no more than 20-years-old and described as being “disengaged” with society.

One offender called himself the “the thief of the north-east”, brazenly admitting online that he was responsible.

Others attacked or hid from police when they were tracked down, destroying evidence or blaming others.

Detective Chief Inspector David Hadden, who has led the crackdown, said there was no real logic behind the crimes.

“They are stealing cars for joy-riding purposes – nothing more than fun and stupidity,” he said.

“Of the 5% of cars that are not recovered, we have evidence that only a small number of cars are actually used for criminal acts.”

At the moment, “the majority” of the ring-leaders are in jail or young offender’s institutes.

Many are still facing charges for a spate of alleged crimes, which will be dealt with in court in the coming weeks and months.

DCI Hadden is hopeful that with the main offenders locked up, there is no one left to influence other youngsters on the outside.

“It means that they are not there to be the role models for siblings, or for friends who see it as exciting when they’re out at night stealing cars and driving around,” he said.

“If you take away the main protagonists, the youngsters who have haven’t learned their trade yet, so to speak, don’t have anyone to look up to.”

 

Timeline: Who are they and what have they done?

January 2013 – Jed Duncan, described as one of the north-east’s most prolific joy riders, steals a Land Rover after taking keys from a home in the Sheddocksley area of Aberdeen during a New Year house party.

April 2013 – Another youth – this time a 15-year-old boy – crashes a Jaguar stolen from Garthdee Drive, Aberdeen.

In court, his solicitor said: “I doubt he can drive dodgems at the carnival, let alone a Jaguar.”

July 2013 – Liam Smith, Blair Thomson and another youth make off with a Porche, a Toyota LandCruiser, an Audi, and an Aston Martin from oil tycoon Sean Dreelan’s mansion in Banchory Devenick, Aberdeenshire.

May 2014 – Two thieves are detained after leading police on a high-speed chase through Montrose and onto the A92 Montrose to Stonehaven road in a stolen car.

July 2014 – Liam Smith admits driving dangerously around Aberdeen in a stolen silver Mercedes CLS250, valued at £50,000.

Jed Duncan is also sentenced to one year detention after a police stakeout led to him being caught getting into a stolen van with hundreds of pounds worth of drugs.

December 2014 – Police officers pursue a stolen BMW X5 through Aberdeenshire, before the vehicle is abandoned on Inverurie’s train station platform.

A stolen blue Audi Q5 2.0 TDi quattro is also driven into a police car during the drama.

Both drivers were locked up for 18 months and disqualified from driving for three years.

March 2015 – Connor Smart is one of two youths convicted of stealing a Lamborghini and BMW X5 from a mansion at Aberdeen’s Oakhill Grange.

 

The impact of these crimes is horrendous

In his lengthy career with Grampian Police, and now Police Scotland, DCI Hadden has never come across a crime spree like it.

And the senior officer is at a loss to explain exactly what has sparked the car craze – other than the teenage instinct to find new ways to seek thrills.

For him, one of the biggest concerns is the number of householders who make it easy for thieves – leaving their doors unlocked, so the criminals can creep inside and pick up keys left lying around.

“These guys will tell you that one in 20 houses they go to are un-locked,” said DCI Hadden.

“You don’t have to hide your keys under your bed in a locked box – all you need to do is put them in a drawer where they are out of sight,” he said.

“The impact these crimes have on people is horrendous. People have moved because they feel violated.”

He said officers had deployed “every resource” at their disposal in the hunt for culprits, including the police helicopter.

Preventative and in-depth analytical work is also carried out, and plans are in place to send officers on specific car theft training courses.

“If there has been a spike in crime in certain areas at certain times of the years on certain days of the week, we will focus our resources there,” he said.

“We’ve had the helicopter out, we’ve had dog handlers on duty in the city, we have roads policing officers, who we work closely with, and we have covert tactics which we can use. We will use all partners and resources available to us.

“As far as pursuits go, we will take tactical options when the conditions allow and where there is no danger to members of the public.

“And if we’re not pursing them we do have other tactical options – radios allow us to communicate quicker than they can drive, and they know fine that when the helicopter gets above them, they’ve had it.

“We also work very closely with the Crown Office to get bail conditions imposed, that they must be within their houses between certain times – times they would be committing crimes. All these preventative measure are having a major impact on car crime.”

And it is in the field of preventative work that DCI Hadden and his colleagues hope to make even greater inroads.

“We need to engage with these kids to see the value of a car, to see the dangers that it can present and to see the moral side of this – that it’s someone else’s property,” he said.

“They’re not stupid, and they would have potential if they focused their minds on something legal.

“They could actually make something of their lives.”