Five men have been sentenced to a combined total of more than 30 years for a 'highly organised' burglary network that brought terror to Greater Manchester in a £500,000 crime spree over 16 months. Children were forced to hide as masked thugs broke into homes, police said.
Greater Manchester Police said 'affluent households' across Salford, Bury and Trafford were targeted between January 2024 and May 2025. Masked burglars smashed down doors and windows to access homes, with most of the break-ins taking place in daylight when the gang believed they would be empty.
Children forced to hide during break-ins
GMP said that in one burglary, a child hid inside a wardrobe while crooks searched a bedroom. In another break-in, another child ran to a bathroom to hide as they tried to get inside. In total, more than £500,000 of property was taken, including family gold, jewellery, designer handbags and other valuable goods.
Police recovered key evidence from mobile phones, with messages revealing gold and jewellery being advertised for sale. One message read: "Got over a kilo of 22 karat straight g." Detectives also recovered footage from Ring doorbells and home-fitted CCTV, with masked members of the gang filmed struggling to carry a safe from a property on Haddon Road in Eccles, Salford, and escaping through a back garden with a TV on Drywood Avenue, Salford.
Sentences handed down at Manchester Crown Court
At Manchester Crown Court on Friday, September 4, the five men were sentenced. David Owen, 24, and Luca Staines, 20, were said by police to have 'played a significant role within the conspiracy.' Liam Dodds, 34, acted as a getaway driver, GMP added.
Owen, 24, of no fixed abode, was sentenced to five years and four months for nine counts of burglary. Staines, 20, of HMP Forest Bank, was jailed for the same period for 15 counts of burglary. Dodds, 34, of Cheadle Avenue, Salford, got six years and four months in relation to eight counts of burglary.
Wayne Jones, 23, of Dunedin Drive, Salford, was jailed for eight years for five counts of burglary, and Rohan Brown, 22, of Riverside Way, Salford, got five years and four months for seven burglaries. All five men pleaded guilty to the charges they faced.
Police release image of gang member with cash
Police released an image recovered during the investigation of Owen posing with a huge wad of cash in the back of a car. In a statement, a GMP spokesperson said: "Investigators identified evidence showing Wayne Jones received £14,000 following a burglary in which approximately £70,000 worth of family gold jewellery was stolen. Images recovered during the investigation also showed Owen and Jones posing with large amounts of cash."
GMP's Operation Castle was launched five years ago to reduce residential burglaries, with the force saying data shows break-ins to be falling. PC Isabella Parsons, from GMP's Salford division, said the gang 'caused significant distress' to dozens of families.
"The offenders deliberately targeted homes for financial gain and showed little regard for the impact their crimes would have on victims, including children and vulnerable residents who were present during some of the burglaries," she said. "The scale of this investigation has been considerable, involving extensive CCTV opportunities, forensic examinations, mobile phone downloads and financial enquiries. We remain committed to supporting victims and continuing enquiries to identify and return recovered property wherever possible."
