A criminal gang who stole more than £1m worth of valuables and irreplaceable heirlooms were brought down by a footprint found at a home they ransacked.

Four of the men, who were linked to 59 burglaries across the midlands and north of England, were sentenced to more than 38 years.

A fifth man, 29-year-old Endrit Nikoll, of Crabtree Road, Walsall, is due to be sentenced on Wednesday 29 April.

While the gang carefully planned their burglaries, through Rightmove, it was the print from a Primark trainer which acted almost like a fingerprint and tied the crimes together.

A forensic intelligence officer at Cheshire Police explained that every person's footwear tread pattern is different, which helped lead them to the suspects.

"What makes this one unique is just how rare it was at these specific scenes showing up," they added.

"It's almost Scooby-Doo-ish following footwear marks around, but the links are there and you can see it, and that modus operandi bringing it all together is what makes it."

The men used Google to search affluent postcodes to identify potential targets, according to police, before looking up floor plans on Rightmove.

They would then break in to these properties, stealing money, jewellery, and other valuables, even setting weekly targets of how much gold they wanted to steal.

This was a carefully orchestrated operation, said detectives from Cheshire Police, tasked with investigating the case.

"This isn't a burglar walking down a street thinking 'I need to do a burglary'," Det Ch Insp Dave Worthington said.

He described this level of planning by a criminal gang as "quite shrewd" but they still left clues that would lead to their arrest.

The force discovered the gang of Endrit Nikolli, 27, Kristian Gropcaj, 31, George Lleshaj, 31, and Krisjian Dedndreaj, 29, and Sidorjan Lleshi, 27 - typically broke into the homes through the first floor, often using a ladder.

This meant they could avoid triggering some burglar alarm systems which only covered downstairs floors.

The homes would be ransacked as the men searched for valuables and ripped sheets off beds to use as makeshift bags to carry stolen items.

In CCTV footage, they were captured stealing an entire safe from one home.

Their victims were left traumatised and fearful.

In one case, the victim was at home when the gang struck.

Det Ch Insp Worthington said: "To come home and find your house in such a state where an offender's gone through your personal effects and stolen items that may also have great sentimental value to yourself or you've worked hard to pay for is pretty devastating."

A breakthrough early in the investigation when Staffordshire Police recovered DNA from a burglary, helped identify those involved.

It matched 27-year-old gang member Nikoli and while police had sufficient evidence to arrest him, they opted to wait to try to catch all those involved.

Police began investigating Nikoli's contacts and piecing together other intelligence.

Ultimately the combination of intelligence, technology and old-fashioned policework would build an undeniable case.

All five men, who were originally from Albania, admitted the crimes when they appeared in court.

Nikolli, Gropcaj, Lleshaj, and Dedndreaj, from the West Midlands, and Lleshi, of Sheffield, all pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit burglary and to possess criminal property  at Chester Crown Court.

They were given prison sentences between nine years and 10 years and nine months.

Jade Tubb, Nikolli's partner, of Walsall, also admitted conspiracy to possess criminal property and was handed a 12-month sentence, which was suspended for two years, and ordered to carry out 200 hours of community service.

Yet this is not the end of the case. Fewer than half of the £1m of valuables stolen by the gang have been recovered, and of those found, many are still to be reunited with their owners.

Additional reporting by Lauren Hirst

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