Overview

• Guildford Crown Court imposed a combined 17 years in prison on Israel Contreras (5 years 3 months), Eduardo Marquez (6 years 9 months), Yeico Guzman Fernandez (2 years 9 months) and Michael Carrasco (2 years 9 months).
• Police say the gang carried out at least 11 burglaries between November 3 and December 11, 2024, stealing watches, designer clothing, jewellery and even unopened Christmas gifts from affluent homes.
• The group posed as tourists and typically scaled to upper floors before forcing entry with tools and ransacking properties.
• Contreras linked the series when he dropped a phone containing mapping-app pins on targeted homes, and his DNA was found on a broken angle‑grinder blade; he was arrested at Heathrow on December 5 while trying to fly to Chile.
• Officers stopped the remaining three on December 11 in a red Hyundai on Fulham Palace Road and recovered jewellery, designer goods and tools, with police stating all four will face deportation after serving their sentences.