Categories: F1 News, Reports and Race ResultsRed Bull Racing

Red Bull trophy thieves jailed

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Four gang members who stole a large number of trophies from Red Bull's factory last year have been jailed.

The four men were part of a gang which ram raided the Red Bull factory in Milton Keynes last December, taking 60 trophies of which roughly a third were recovered from a lake in Surrey. The gang had been on a six-month spree which also involved stealing tens of thousands of pounds from cash machines, with its overall haul estimated at nearly £1million.

Having pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges at Guildford Crown Court in Surrey, the gang members were jailed for conspiracy to commit burglary and steal.

Danny Stevens, 37, received a seven-year sentence; Paul Smith, 24 was sentenced to six-years; Jason Eastwood, 41, was handed a sentence of three years and four months; and Luke Cole, 24, got two-years.

In handing out the sentences, Judge Christopher Critchlow said: "This was serious organised crime... that reflected a deliberate, organised, professional conspiracy to burgle and steal."

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.