UK police have jailed a trio of car thieves who were using a device that looks a lot like a Nintendo Game Boy to steal vehicles worth £180,000 in total.
Dylan Armer, Christopher Bowes and Thomas Poulson stole five Mitsubishi Outlanders by using the gadget to bypass the cars' security systems, according to the BBC. The device in question is worth £20,000, and, according to West Yorkshire Police, is capable of unlocking and starting a car "in a matter of seconds". Closer inspection suggests the complex internals are clad in a cheap, knock-off Game Boy-style casing, commonly seen on emulation consoles from the far east.
The three men were jailed at Leeds Crown Court after pleading guilty to conspiracy to steal. They were arrested after a Mitsubishi Outlander was stolen from a driveway in Scholes on July 20th of this year. CCTV footage showed them unplugging the car from its charging point before using the Game Boy-like gadget to unlock and start its engine.
Upon their arrest, the device was found in a hidden compartment of their car. Furthermore, footage from Poulson's smartphone showed the individual demonstrating how swiftly the device could give him access to a car, accompanied "by a commentary in mocking tones".
West Yorkshire Police added that "significant investment" was required to purchase one of the "sophisticated devices", suggesting that the thefts were "planned and orchestrated crimes".
Armer was jailed for 30 months. Poulson and Bowes were each given 22 months in prison, suspended for two years.
[source bbc.co.uk]
Comments 34
insert GTA joke here
Worth £20,000 according to who? Heritage Auctions?
They should ban pocketable electronic devices.
this "SUP" gameboy is one of the chepest emulation consoles with screens you can fint. It costs something like $3. It was a clever idea from the criminals to hide a $20,000 circuit inside there.
The slippery slope from downloading roms to downloading cars.
@themightyant The tech inside is worth £20,000. The case isn't.
@Damo Yeah, doesn't look Wata 9.8 A++ Sealed
Haha. I have one of those devices but a red color. I got it to help entertain a 7yr old on a 18hr drive.
Wow, this is pretty weird.
I wonder if it can actually play ROMS, instead of just stealing cars.
I would love to see more about the modded device, I find it fascinating
I’m unfamiliar with British law. What does it mean for the two people who were jailed for 22 months and suspended? Obviously I’m asking about the suspended part.
@BloodNinja a suspended sentence is one which the individual doesn't go to prison but has to fulfil obligations handed out to them such as community service. If they fail to meet this, or they commit further offences, they'll end up in prison.
@mr_benn Thanks for that. And wait, didn’t these guys steal five cars? That’s a pretty tame sentence! That would be years in prison in the US.
@BloodNinja Depends on what obligations the judge imposed AND where you sit on the reform vs imprisonment debate.
Usually if they think the scare and suspended sentence has a chance of actually helping the defendant reform they'll go with that. Not least prisons are over subscribed and expensive!
But yes it sounds a little lenient to me as published in the BBC.
@themightyant Man that must be such an interesting topic. In the US, it’s pretty much all identity politics, so I don’t get into those discussions with others, as they are painfully ignorant of the actual facts behind their opinions. But talking about reform vs. imprisonment seems more interesting. Maybe I’ll move back to the UK by the time I retire!
@BloodNinja Don't you worry we've got PLENTY of that too!
But yes it is a really interesting topic with no easy answers. Yet many feel very passionately one way or the other... often without much basis in fact other than a few dubious statistics and misquoted sound bites. Sound familiar
@themightyant Hahahah, yes, sounds very familiar! Either way, I was born in Manchester and returning to my home country is on the table...just saving up and deciding where I want to land for retirement.
@BloodNinja Having travelled a fair bit i'd recommend Bali! lol
I'm off to Manchester from the big smoke this weekend in fact.
How can a cheap Chinese device hack into 120k car? So baffling 🤔🤔
@themightyant Hahaha Nice
@BloodNinja I've got to run and get back to work but just to leave you with the monetary part of the reform vs imprison debate, obvs. far more complex, but it's a start and it is interesting... and sorry... bad form to post and run
In 2020 it cost, on average, around £44,000 to imprison someone per year in the UK.
Meanwhile a year of education at Eton College, one of the most expensive boarding schools (food, board and education included), was also around £44,000.
While i'm not suggesting we roll out the red carpet to all wannabe car thieves, it does beg the question; given better opportunities and education how many would make the same criminal choices?
@themightyant Thanks for the thoughts and data! Have a good day
@themightyant I initially read that as ‘Going to Manchester for a big smoke’, which reminded me of being in my twenties.
@BloodNinja There’s the added complexity of prisons in the USA being privately owned and applying significant lobbying pressure to lawmakers to apply custodial sentences (for example in the three strikes debacle), as opposed to the UK where prisons are state owned and the pressure is to keep prison numbers down while deterring crime. There’s some ideas around the North American prison industrial complex growing out of a need to replace free labour after the abolition of slavery that are interesting to explore as well.
I work as a forensic psychologist and the evidence is that prison itself is an effective deterrent but sentence length is rarely considered in committing a crime, and that without systems of education, rehabilitation and re-skilling prison does not reduce the reoffending rate.
@Eddy9000 Indeed. I often wonder about the lengthy prison sentences some offenders have to serve, and wonder still how on earth they can re-integrate back into civilian life once they get out. And then of course, there is the mindset of the so-called "career criminal," which some people choose. I've spoken with forensic psychologists before, the work sounds fascinating. What do you do to bring yourself back down? I know that you may be exposed to a lot of misery, in that line of work. I work armed security so I see a slightly different part of the process LOL
@BloodNinja Ah to be honest I think we all just fall into the work that we’re able to do isn’t it? A difficult job for me would be sitting at a desk doing spreadsheets all day, as I’m sure someone who works in your area might agree! 😆
Reintegration and institutionalisation are real issues, but I think a bigger factor is the introduction of first offenders, young people and minor offenders to a more hardened criminal lifestyle through the people they meet in prison. Much more of a fan of prison diversion to community rehab, therapies and education programmes for this sort.
@Eddy9000 "Ah to be honest I think we all just fall into the work that we’re able to do isn’t it?" Truer words were never spoken!
Great talking to you, by the way. Have a great day, and be safe!
I really hope you start the car by pressing the Start button.
@Eddy9000 aha! That would remind me of my twenties… but they’re a bit hazy
Wow, makes me proud to be from Leeds 🤦🏻♂️
That's the only one of the hundreds of modded game boys I see in the news here weekly I've had an interest in.
Well I'll be damned. Someone managed to unlock my Mitsubishi Outlander 2 weeks ago in the middle of the night. Thankfully my doorbell camera caught the thief on tape and I saw him on time. Cops arrested him later that night. I'm in Canada and I still don't know what kind of device he used, but Mitsubishi got some explaining to do.
Aaah the Sup Boy. I have one of these! Purchased as a random special buy from my local grocery store of all places for $15AUD. Its packed with NES ROMs. Its pretty clunky but not a bad bit of fun for the money!
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