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Reality Realm US
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Short filmTranscript
00:00Car crime is at a record high across the UK there's a car stolen every four minutes
00:17leaving families feeling violated there's people in my house and more than likely they're not here
00:29for a good reason 50 seconds was enough time to reprogram that car so that they had control of
00:35it and we didn't but an army of investigators are fighting back the car is actually parked just
00:41there by fitting vehicles with high-tech trackers can't tell you what the devices look like or where
00:46we hide them so they can trace track it's a cat and mouse game now we just have to follow that
00:51signal and snatch them back from the crooks who took them there you go there we go got it before
00:55they're sold on or shipped overseas they're called organized crime groups for a reason
00:59they're organized they plan this stuff today there's a chase through the streets of Croydon
01:12I can't see anybody else in the car when a car is stolen by suspected drug dealers
01:18and it's a tense time if I see one of those trackers go offline my nerves will go for the roof
01:25when a sting operation is set up to catch a ruthless crime gang there's no way we're going to be spotted
01:33here
01:33former police officer turned tracker Neil Thomas has just been contacted by a customer
01:45one of its fleet of luxury vehicles has been stolen by suspected drug dealers it's all come to light
01:52this morning they've contacted us to say this is where the car is we've got some concerns about
01:57who's hired the vehicle false ID fake driving license etc and so we're pretty sure it's criminality
02:04incidents like this are increasingly common with criminals stealing cars to commit offenses and avoid
02:11detection the car at the moment is 1.8 miles away from where we are in this case the car a white
02:18Audi a4 is fitted with a live tracking device the important thing for us is it's been pointed
02:23stolen to the police so the plan is now to go and track the car speak to the police and recover it
02:29Neil will be using two vehicles to track the stolen car he'll drive one of them himself and trackers
02:37Alan and Mike will be in the other they'll be getting constant update from their live tracking
02:42team back at base
02:44it's just turning on to cliff road that's within cliff with an e off Selsden Road
02:51well what we'll do is we'll head towards it and then once we can locate it then that's the idea then to speak to the police
02:58and we can do that as well from here yeah to say right we with a stolen vehicle now there's somebody
03:03with it Neil and his team are tracking the car using a GPS signal accurate to within two to three meters
03:10he's taken the most bizarre route because he's done a he's done a massive circle gone back on himself and
03:16now he's going looks oh he's just coming to a junction now if he turns left he's basically
03:23going back to where he started oh really but he's just done two massive loops with only one stop
03:30the stolen vehicles weaving its way around Croydon getting behind it isn't easy
03:36yeah I think especially going around London the issue that you've got is that you just can't go anywhere
03:42faster so you just can't make up any time really but as new tracking information comes through the
03:49team may have an unexpected opportunity to gain ground it looks alike he's stationary at the moment
03:55he's stopped the ignition on stationary Neil is becoming increasingly suspicious of the driver's
04:03movements it seems to be going on short short journeys almost like you know a courier or a delivery
04:12person you know why would you make you know multiple stops in a local neighborhood underneath
04:18railway bridges and things like that so you know we don't want to jump to conclusions but that would
04:23you know that raises certainly suspicions for me without the tracker on board tracing a stolen car
04:30in such a congested area would be almost impossible you won't believe he's just on the move now oh really okay
04:38do you know which way he's heading he's heading away from you so yeah that's fine now it's turned west
04:47onto the Bingham Road so he's heading sort of back towards you right okay yeah come on keep going keep
04:56going it looks like they are coming straight towards you so probably half a mile away the driver of the
05:04stolen vehicle has no idea his every move is being tracked he's heading straight for Neil and they're
05:10just minutes apart he's just turned down Lansdowne Road so they're heading south down Lansdowne Road
05:17now okay we're just turning into Lansdowne Road now later Neil comes face to face with the driver of the
05:25stolen Audi but it's not just cars that the criminals target the theft of plant machinery
05:43is a growing problem tracking specialist Richard Taylor has received a call from a plant hire company
05:49in Waltham Abbey they've had two of their vehicles stolen so what's occurred here is that our customer
05:56has been contacted by seemingly one of their their customers requesting a machine to be delivered an
06:04eight-tonne Kubota digger and they delivered this machine thinking it was a legitimate customer
06:09request and thought no more of it really then a few days later they requested another machine a
06:16second machine a five-tonne Kubota the stolen vehicles are worth 120 grand in total the criminals
06:25have been back in touch with the victims to make another fraudulent hire so they've called on Richard to
06:31run a sting operation the first two machines were not fitted with our theft recovery system so we can't
06:39activate them to go and recover them so the plan here is to allow this bandit to take a third machine and
06:45this time for us to make sure it's fully track it up Richard's banking that the trackers which are
06:53installed on the decoy machine will lead him to the stolen diggers but if it goes wrong the company could
07:00lose a third vehicle what we're all hoping for is that they'll turn up and take it away and hopefully
07:07take it to some yard nearby where the other two machines are resting up we may have difficulties in
07:13in tracking and recovering even this third vehicle depends who we're dealing with but there are
07:18methods that these criminals can use to try and outwit us and we have our technology that can deal
07:24with most scenarios that they use but you never know and we can't guarantee that this sting vehicle will be
07:35recovered as well we can't guarantee that there's a risk associated with that there's been a recent
07:41surge in bogus hire of plant equipment by thieves impersonating genuine customers and some of these
07:48criminals will stop at nothing to get their hands on the valuable kit it's the worst case scenario for this
07:54operation is we are dealing with some real organized professionals a major gang they could be armed they
08:01could be willing to use those weapons they could be very aggressive if we were to confront them even
08:09if the police were to confront them you know we may need an armed response so the worst thing that could
08:14happen is we we find the machines maybe and then somebody ends up getting hurt
08:19Richard meets manager Dan at the plant hire company to check out the vehicle he'll be tracking
08:27so this is the machine that we've all right you've got four trackers in there right so we've got two
08:34battery ones two wired ones so the plan will be in terms of tracking this vehicle that the office will
08:42track it on one of the live trackers we've got two live trackers in there which will report every few
08:48seconds right so really accurate they will then tell us exactly where it's traveling and we'll be
08:53tracking it by about half a mile behind you know and we'll always keep this all that distance I've
08:58already decided wherever this goes in the UK we're going to follow it to try and get these other two
09:02machines yeah that's the objectives to try we're doing this taking this risk but to try and get these
09:08other two machines and get these people arrested it's a good risk to take considering the value of the
09:15two machines that they've already had it means getting one machine back then we've reduced the
09:21hit if we can even find these guys and get them off the streets as well then that's a that's an
09:25added bonus to everyone it's not the first and it definitely might be the last but we want to make
09:30sure that it doesn't happen to anyone again but it is happening on a weekly basis it's nearly time for the
09:36sting vehicle to be taken to the drop-off point that's being arranged with the fraudsters I'm just
09:42checking that the radio signal is coming out of the machine point out the machine point it away until
09:54I lose it so no signal in that direction signal in that direction I'm happy the bait digger is secured
10:05on the low loader and it's driven out of the yard with Richard following on behind later the sting
10:13operation is now live but will Richard succeed in recovering the two stolen diggers let's hope this
10:20isn't the last time we see this machine in South London Neil's tracking a stolen car so we're now into
10:32Croydon Road whoever's behind the wheel has a fake driving license and is thought to be using the car
10:38for dropping off drugs yeah we're going left on the two three two we seem to go to every red traffic light
10:43which is typical Alan and Mike in the second car are right behind the stolen vehicle yeah all being
10:50well we'll be able to stop it and keep it stopped for long enough to officers to attend they should
10:56be coming into view any moment now just behind the van is the stolen white Audi a4 Alan and Mike are in
11:04the black BMW behind we're just with him now they've got one white male and just sit behind him now what
11:11sorry one Asian male not white male one Asian well looks in his sort of 40s 50s maybe I can't see
11:18anybody else in the car so we're in Ben Hill Wood Road yeah at the moment the suspect vehicle is now
11:26clearly in their sights so we've just spotted the car and we're just trying to get behind it now one of
11:32the vehicles is behind it there's one male driving it so we're just trying to keep with it now
11:38Neil's team don't have the power to detain the driver so they've alerted the Met Police and
11:45they're hoping they'll arrive soon well it just depends where the police vehicles are that's
11:50the that's the challenge really because they've got to get through the traffic okay we're behind you
11:58I would have vaulted a little bit with a van yeah yeah I can see you just by the premier yeah okay so
12:07my colleagues are behind the vehicle now and we're just voting the police now to try and coordinate them to
12:13come and stop the vehicle are you onto the police yeah they've called me okay yeah it's quite slow
12:20moving traffic it's 21 hours zone the stolen vehicle isn't going fast so we'll just maintain the speed
12:29limit and keep a safe distance until the police arrive you can see the vehicle they're just turning left
12:36Alan and Mike are right on the driver's tail while Neil is stuck in traffic a few cars behind it's in
12:44situations like this Neil's police experience comes to the fore you know the temptation is that um you
12:50know people get a bit excited but we've done so many of these really that we can control it and if we
12:56needed to we could back off because we've got live tracker data anyway and it's moving towards
13:00Groydon so Groydon Town Centre so I would imagine very shortly we'll see some police activity the police
13:09use Neil's tracking data to trace the car intercept it and bring it to a stop Alan and Neil are right
13:17behind they turn on their body cams and join police at the scene officers seize the car and arrest the suspect
13:26great result we tracked it we've located it we've told the police where it is the police have done
13:32their job and the vehicle is safe and now potentially you know another uninsured driver at the very least
13:38is off the road which is good this crime is thought to be linked to a wider ongoing investigation
13:46in Essex tracker Richard has set up a risky sting operation in a bid to locate two stolen diggers
13:58snatched by a gang of thieves a vehicle being used as bait is being taken to a drop-off point where
14:05Richard will lie in wait for the criminals we're following the transporter with the five-ton excavator
14:12on we'll just follow it for a few miles and then we're back off a bit we don't intend to be right
14:17behind it when it gets dropped off we don't want this vehicle to be eyeballed so we've got the trackers
14:24to tell us where it's going for Richard this sting operation is a career first we have been involved in
14:32setting these sort of operations up but they've never actually gone into a working environment they've
14:37always for some reason had to be abandoned so but this is the first one that's going ahead so yeah
14:42you know even after 16 years of doing this business this is new something new today there is a risk of
14:51this machine going missing and that's that that's that's a worry if I see one of those trackers go
14:58offline my nerves will go through the roof Richard's sister Jackie is back at base monitoring the tracker in
15:05the machine being used as bait call Jackie
15:08hiya right it's on the move I just want you to confirm you can see it moving and you can see me
15:16behind it yeah yeah I can see you as long as you can see the step yeah you're on it a one two one and
15:23I've got you on my computer and I'm just downloading the Google to get you on those maps as well all right
15:29thank you cheers bye I'm trying to get in touch with HQ every few minutes really just to check
15:36that the live updates working we've checked that it's all working fine so all systems go all green
15:43lights the pulse will go up a little bit once it gets dropped off and we'll we'll be wanting to know
15:49those positions constantly let's hope this isn't the last time we see this machine less than a mile
16:00from the drop-off point Richard pulls over and leaves the client to drop off the digger photo I've
16:07just received is from our client and obviously the driver when he drops off the machine he's taken the
16:13photograph to show where he's dropped it off at and it's been there for an hour now the drop-off point
16:18seems to be a junction close to the M11 where there are some works going on they're doing a new
16:22slip road so it looks legit in the fact so they've obviously chosen a location where the driver is not
16:28going to suspect any issues because there's already other plant equipment around there obviously the
16:33first thing we're going to see is he go left or does he go right does he go north south east west
16:36where's he heading I need to give that update to Jackie and she relate to everyone else call Jackie
16:42calling Jackie on mobile
16:44hello all right well I've spoken to Dan and he said it's on the side of the road I haven't seen it
16:52yet Jack so I don't know where it is but it's not moving is it he said it's stationary where he dropped
16:57it off no it's not moving as soon as it moves let me know yeah we'll do all right thank you cheers
17:03bye until it moves there's not much we can do and it's just a waiting game now
17:08we're two and a half hours into this stakeout no motion on the machine it's a bit of a guessing
17:23game to be honest I was expecting that not to move in the first hour but possibly move in the second
17:28hour but the longer it's left there it's just getting more and more difficult to understand
17:34what's going on the time now is sort of 20 past six so we're six and a half hours in the machine
17:42hasn't moved at all and we have actually driven past it a couple of times and there's no activity
17:48around the machine it's unlikely the thieves will move the digger at night because that would look
17:53suspicious so Richard decides to check into a hotel and we'll continue the stakeout tomorrow
17:59we didn't think it would go during the night it would just be too risky the police could drive by
18:11and stop and ask him questions Richard has located a lookout post on a grassy verge which gives him a
18:19direct line of sight to the vehicle being used as bait and go through some small woodlands and we're
18:25on a mound looking down it's a very busy road so most people will be just looking at the traffic or
18:31what's going on around them we're definitely well hidden there because I've got a sort of move around
18:35to get an eyeball myself and there's no way we're gonna be spotted here I mean it could be there the
18:42whole weekend our plan is to stay here for a few hours this morning and then we'll back off but it's
18:47all track it up so as soon as it moves we can follow it remotely and send the police directly
18:52to the GPS location it's all quiet on the western front at the moment nothing's nothing's really
19:03turned up that looks like a seven and a half ton low loader to put this on we don't want to be
19:08hanging around here all day come on boys go for it after waiting for five hours this morning Richard
19:16agrees with the customer that he should call it a day we think we're gonna leave site now it doesn't
19:25look like anything's gonna happen we're not too disappointed everything's working to plan it's
19:28just obviously we're not pulling the controls on the bandits they do whatever they want and we have to
19:33follow suit really later it's not the end of the road for Richard when the bait vehicle is stolen
19:41along with eight other machines so we've come here to try and see what the hell is going on at this
19:47location crime statistics show that around 130,000 vehicles were stolen between April 2023 and March 2024
20:02one of the country's hot spots is the West Midlands one victim of car crime is Nadine Sandal who lives
20:14with her husband and two children in Dudley I decided that I wanted to buy a bit more of a luxurious car
20:21than what I usually would go for so I bought a BMW and convertible and you know originally loved the car
20:29so my kids had got that little bit older where I hadn't got to put push jays etc into the boot of
20:35the car so I thought I'll treat myself and get a better car which then suited all of the family
20:40but then Nadine discovered just how desirable her BMW was
20:47my husband woke up at about six o'clock to go and walk the dog as he left the house he then realized
20:57that the car wasn't there so he sort of double you know did a double take as if where is the car and he
21:05then came back into the house and could see that the the key was still there so at that point then he
21:10shouted upstairs to me Nadine's doorbell camera caught the thieves in action we both then looked
21:18to ring footage and we could actually see that the car was stolen at about 11 p.m. we'd only been asleep
21:25upstairs for about 45 minutes we'd saw that two gentlemen had come down the drive and at this point
21:32they'd already gained access into the car one person had then got into the car and another person was
21:39holding some form of device up against the windows so they then got the signal from the key which then
21:46allowed them to start the ignition on the car so once they'd got that they're basically the other
21:52gentleman got in the car and they drove off with the car keyless car theft also known as relay theft
22:00continues to increase across the UK a thief using this technique uses software to extend the range of
22:08the signal the key is broadcasting even when it's inside the home activating the unlocking sequence
22:14and allowing the car to be driven we just couldn't believe it initially myself my husband and my two
22:21children were fast asleep upstairs you know it made us feel sick to the stomach that somebody was then in
22:27possession of my car my hard-earned money and somebody else had pinched it you'd saw it happen in the
22:34local community and other cars being stolen but it was like it's not going to happen to us you know we don't
22:40need to worry and all of a sudden it's happened to us at that point then it suddenly dawned on me that i had the bmw app so i logged into the app to have a look and there it was it was saying that my car was about six miles away in broilie hill
22:56so at that point my husband said i'm going to go in my car to the last known location and see if it's still there and however call the police for me so at least when i get there they can be there
23:08the police advised nadine's husband not to approach the vehicle as the potentially dangerous criminals could have been nearby officers arrived at the scene within minutes
23:22once we got the car and we misuse the car back we obviously gave the car a good once over just to double check so we looked all around the external of the car and there was no damage at all we then looked internally there was some centre console damage where it looked like a lot of damage
23:36console damage where it looked like they tried to remove some wires to see if there was a tracker
23:41and we think they thought that maybe they had got the tracker out at that point but
23:45clearly they hadn't because we could obviously still see on the app where the car was at that point in time
23:53unsurprisingly the incident left the whole family badly shaken
24:00it made us just feeling really really terrible and quite violated
24:04that somebody could have done this to us and you know taken you know something that we'd work really
24:10really hard for
24:13i'm more conscious now i'm more conscious when my ring doorbell does go off and if it's later of the night
24:19i will get up and have a look where previously i probably wouldn't have
24:24again just double checking that everything's okay
24:26nadine has now taken serious measures to prevent her car being taken from the driveway again
24:33it can happen to anybody so i would definitely look at your security measures within your home
24:39you know from an external point of view and an internal point of view you know the bollards that we had
24:44installed were very very inexpensive but actually it's a deterrent straight away they see them and
24:52they're not going to bother and then also just make sure you're downloading the apps you know
24:56do whatever you possibly can that can help and support you in trying to locate the car and securing your
25:02cars within your property
25:10cars with keyless entry unlock automatically when the key comes within a short distance of the car
25:16but this technology can make cars more vulnerable to being stolen
25:23in fact it's estimated between 60 and 70 percent of cars stolen in the last year were keyless models
25:31a criminal using keyless or relay theft uses technology to intercept the signal from a car to unlock it
25:39and start the ignition but there are steps you can take to avoid relay crime
25:49when you're at home keep your keys away from the car windows and doors
25:55use a signal blocking faraday bag
25:59park the car in a garage overnight
26:03and a steering wheel lock can act as a deterrent
26:09two days after leaving the bait vehicle at a drop-off point in leicestershire richard taylor got
26:18an alert that it was on the move as soon as that movement alarm came in we were sort of on it like
26:23a rash really when we were checking the gps it just literally drove down the road it went probably 150
26:30meters and uh we thought you know we've got a gps we don't need to do the rf let's just get the police
26:36there as soon as possible we can't risk that bait vehicle going missing as well even though we've
26:42tracked it up to the hill
26:46guided by richard police raced to the site and retrieved the bait vehicle but there was no sign
26:52of the two diggers and that wasn't the end of it the customer carried out an audit of their hires
27:00and discovered a further eight valuable machines were missing
27:05one of the vehicles was fitted with richard's tracker so he's led police to a lock-up in coventry
27:11and they're about to raid it are we going to find all eight of these machines are we just going to
27:17find one machine uh we're just going to find the tracker on the floor what's going to happen
27:32richard then receives news that officers have discovered a shocking 14 machines eight of them
27:38belonging to his customer and that's a win for richard well i'm more than happy that's probably one of the
27:46biggest results we've had certainly for one tracking device i mean that's led us to all eight machines
27:52in that building and our customer is over the moon just makes my day really does that's that's so good i'm
28:00i'm so pleased
28:12so
28:30so
28:34you
28:36you
28:38you
28:40you
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