One of their victims suffered a heart attack as they committed 82 crimes Curtis Morrison, Sean Fagan and Daniel Johnston stole £1.4million of 'high value' cars during a six-month crime spree From left; Sean Fagan, Curtis Morrison and Daniel Johnston (Image: Merseyside Police ) A man suffered a heart attack after falling victim to a million pound car theft gang. Curtis Morrison, Sean Fagan and Daniel Johnston conspired to steal a staggering 82 cars over a six-month period before having the "high value" vehicles sold off for parts after they were dismantled at "chop shops" across Merseyside. The latter was linked to the scheme after leaving a bag full of car keys and cannabis at a caravan park's coffee shop amid a spree of thefts in North Wales. His accomplices were meanwhile rumbled following two separate car crashes with one, a taxi driver turned drug dealer, being found "sweating and out of breath" after he unsuccessfully attempted to run from the scene of the crime. ‌ Liverpool Crown Court heard this week that the three defendants were "part of a gang of professional car thieves" who were "responsible for stealing high value keyless motor cars from residential addresses" between April and October 2022. This saw a total of 82 vehicles, valued at £1.4million, from the driveways of homes "mainly in Liverpool", as well as in Southport, St Helens, Widnes and the Wirral area. ‌ Tom Challinor, prosecuting, described their criminality as "a case of stealing goods to order" using automatic key programmers, devices used legitimately by locksmiths which had "fallen into the hands of the defendants". Having forced the doors of the cars and gained access to their onboard computers, these gadgets would enable the offenders to programme blank keys to become compatible with the vehicles in question. This allowed them to simply drive away with the stolen goods without having to get their hands on the real keys. Mr Challinor added: "In many cases, the vehicles ended up in chop shops where a mechanic would strip the vehicles down for their valuable parts to be sold on the black market in such a condition that they were not traceable." The operation ultimately unravelled in the aftermath of a series of raids at premises such as Hartley's Village in Aintree, Prescot Road, Lightbody Street, in Vauxhall, and Canning Road, Southport, between 2022 and 2024. Several other stolen vehicles were "found unattended at the roadside", although Mr Challinor said: "Whether these had been abandoned or left to collect at a later time is unclear." Article continues below Morrison, of Sparrow Hall Road in Walton, and Fagan, of Whitney Road in Woolton, were said to have been involved in the theft of 35 vehicles over the first three months of the conspiracy before they were "joined by Johnston at the end of July", after which he "assisted his co-conspirators in stealing over two dozen more vehicles until the end of October". Their involvement was subsequently established by the movements of their mobile phones and their communications with one another around the time of each incident. These followed a "broadly similar pattern" of Morrison and Fagan meeting at one another's homes before travelling to the locations in question and committing the thefts. On occasions, they also performed reconnaissance missions on addresses before returning to steal the vehicles later in the day. Some cars were also left abandoned before being collected at a later date "to allow a cooling off period to ensure that the vehicle was not being tracked". Johnston, of Ingrave Road in Walton, was shown to have been in phone contact with his co-defendants before, during and after the thefts after joining the plot, having also travelled to the relevant sites with his accomplices. ‌ Morrison was identified as being responsible for stealing five cars in the Prestatyn area between September 6 and 8 that year, having driven some of these vehicles back to Merseyside. However, during this time, the 31-year-old was said to have accidentally left his bag in a coffee shop at Robin Hood Holiday Park, in Rhyl. When members of staff looked inside, they discovered "numerous car keys and some cannabis" and contacted the police. Morrison's DNA was subsequently found on the bag which contained two key programming devices, 15 electronic vehicle keys and a Land Rover branded battery used to power the telemetry systems of vehicles. Fagan was meanwhile arrested on October 10 after Merseyside Police received reports of a stolen Audi being driven in convoy with another stolen vehicle along Copplehouse Lane in Fazakerley. The former was found unattended at the roadside following a crash, with the 31-year-old being located nearby in possession of two cloned vehicle keys and a pair of black gloves in his pocket. ‌ A search of his home subsequently revealed the log book of a Land Rover which had been stolen by the gang from an address in Scarisbrick Road on July 2, as well as a quantity of blank vehicle registration plates and car keys. This incident led to him later being convicted of aggravated vehicle taking. Johnson was then detained 10 days later on October 20 after a Ford Fiesta, a car which had been stolen from an address on Whitewood Park in Aintree only two days previously, was crashed on Halewood Road. The 37-year-old was located near to the scene of the accident "sweating and out of breath", having apparently fled on foot. Plain clothes officers then "almost caught up with" Morrison on December 16 while investigating a "suspicious motor car" which had been parked on his street. He was seen to "emerge from a caravan" outside his house but "slipped away unchallenged" before the vehicle in question was identified as stolen. ‌ The car's keys were subsequently found inside the motorhome, leading to his girlfriend, who remained inside the address, being arrested. Several items which were "consistent with vehicle crime" were recovered from the property, including car keys, a knuckle duster, three key programmers, a press and several blank number plates. Morrison was circulated as wanted but was not traced until November 13 2023, when he was arrested on Yew Tree Road. Police again found the "tools of the trade for those involved in professional vehicle crime" during a search of an address on this street. These included several car keys, satellite navigation systems, five laptops, a tool bag, a stolen identity document, a bag of cash, a pair of gloves and a mask. A BMW was also found parked outside on false registration plates. ‌ Mr Challinor added: "At the time of each of those arrests, each defendant, it would seem, was not under suspicion of the overarching conspiracy as a whole. The extent of the conspiracy was revealed after the event by the police marrying together numerous incident logs, forming their suspicions about who may be involved, seizing the telephones, undertaking cell site work and then cross referencing cell site data and the movements of the suspects with the stolen vehicles, reports from members of the public and witness reports which were subsequently taken. The police were able to stand back and view the full picture which saw these three men involved in the manner set out." Among the vehicles stolen during the summer of 2022 was a campervan stolen from a couple, who were left unable to go on holiday with their young children as a result. Others contained "irreplaceable items of a sentimental value" which were never recovered. One woman meanwhile had her car stolen from outside a Premier Inn hotel where she was staying while working away. And one man even suffered a heart attack while he was reporting the theft of his vehicle to the police. ‌ Fagan claims that his involvement was "limited to 46 thefts", although the crown maintain that this figure stands at 73 in actuality. Johnston meanwhile states that he was involved in 27 of the 82 incidents, which "broadly speaking, accords with the evidence". Morrison has a total of 18 previous convictions for 27 offences, including receiving custodial sentences for robbery, burglary, aggravated vehicle taking and drug supply matters. Damian Nolan said on his behalf: "He seems to be a long standing user of cannabis. Simply to fund that habit and to provide monies for him, his partner and their three children, he has engaged in this conduct. "He also recognises the impact that it has on each car owner and the cumulative impact of that scale of offending. To his credit, he has not sought to quibble with the crown's case. He is fortunate to have a partner, notwithstanding the provocation of another prison sentence, who is standing by him. They have three young children. They remain committed to that relationship." ‌ Fagan's previous court appearances have seen him convicted of offences including burglary, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, aggravated vehicle taking, class A drug supply and cannabis production, as well as a 27-month sentence in October last year for conspiracy to steal motor vehicles. This related to his involvement in four car thefts between October 2023 and February 2024. His counsel Kate Morley said: "Perhaps for the first time in his offending, he has considered the profound impact. In his words, reading the victim impact statements, he realises how bad his behaviour is. "When one actually reads the words of the people who have been affected by this and the inconvenience and distress, it has a more profound impact. It has brought home his actions, his behaviour. Perhaps for the first time, he is truly reflecting and considering the consequences of his actions. ‌ "When released from custody in December, he became a carer for his grandmother. She has been left struggling following his recent arrest. During his most recent imprisonment, he completed a course in joinery. He is determined that that is going to be his future." Johnston's criminal record shows four entries for seven offences, including an appearance for burglary in 2003, 30 months for wounding with intent in 2005, an extended prison sentence for attempted robbery in 2009 and 45 months for supplying heroin and cocaine in December 2022. Michael Scholes, defending, told the court: "Mr Johnston's entry into the conspiracy was at about the halfway point. "The significance in this particular conspiracy is that it was already up and running as a sophisticated, already well equipped conspiracy. He brought nothing by way of intelligence to the proceedings. It was already well established and well equipped. ‌ "He was effectively recruited on a fee basis and had no share in the equity. He knew what he was involved in and he does not shirk from accepting responsibility for that. His antecedents do not suggest that he is a man who regularly involves himself in acquisitive offending. The key to his involvement in these offences is the last conviction on his antecedents. "He was a taxi driver. He became addicted to cocaine. He lost his job and he needed money for his drug habit. By the end of 2022, Mr Johnston was in prison. In May of 2024, he was released from custody. He had dealt with his drug addiction successfully. "It goes beyond that. He acquired a heavy goods vehicle licence and he got a job. He was working in that job, enjoying it, honest, gainful, well remunerated employment. And then his past caught up with him, and he is arrested in relation to these matters. So he loses his job, and everything he had worked for disintegrates. This is a man who did everything he possibly could to rehabilitate himself." ‌ Appearing in the dock wearing a yellow Montirex t-shirt and with a pair of glasses perched on top of his head on Thursday, Johnston took a tissue and began to wipe away tears as Mr Scholes made reference to his children. He added: "There is an enormous imperative on this man to get himself back into honest and gainful employment as soon as he possibly can. He was a man who was under, albeit self imposed, pressure to engage in acquisitive crime." All three defendants admitted conspiracy to steal motor vehicles and returned to the same court to be sentenced today, Friday. Both Morrison and Fagan received 60 months behind bars, while Johnston was jailed for 33 months. He was once again seen in tears in the dock as he learned his fate and shouted as he was led to the cells: "I haven't done nothing. I've been slammed mate." Article continues below Sentencing, Recorder Andrew Ford KC said: "This was a wide ranging, carefully coordinated operation. The method by which you stole the great number of vehicles was sophisticated. They were stolen over an extensive area over the north west of England and Wales. "Often, vehicles were targeted in advance of their taking. Within a short time of the theft of those vehicles, many were taken to what has been termed as chop shops immediately after so that the parts could be sold. The scale of this operation is revealed rather starkly by the value of the vehicles that were taken. It is just short of £1.5million."