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I've had my £114,000 car stolen four times – but always get it back within half an hour using essential gadget

I've had my £114,000 car stolen four times – but always get it back within half an hour using essential gadget

Scottish Sun12-05-2025

A MAN who has had his £114k Range Rover stolen four times says he always gets it back thanks to an essential gadget.
Tom Jaconelli, 39, was left infuriated after his posh 150mph SUV was taken from outside his house yet again.
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Tom Jaconelli saw his expensive motor stolen but it wasn't the first time
Credit: Jam Press/Romans International
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Tom's pricey 2024 Range Rover Sports P550e
Credit: Jam Press/Romans International
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Tom's clever gadget helped recover his vehicle
Credit: Jam Press/Tom Jaconelli
Doorbell footage showed the director of car dealership Romans International, having his 2024 Range Rover Sport P550e snatched just metres from his front door.
But savvy Tom had fitted his motor with a tracking system which enabled him to get his vehicle back.
He said the car was retrieved when three police dog vans stopped the thief in his tracks.
Thankfully for Tom, the motor was found 15 minutes away from Tom's home in Cobham, Surrey.
Tom said: 'This is the fourth time I've had a car stolen from outside my house.
'Three times out of four we got the car back but this is the first time they actually caught the criminal who did it.
'We got the car back with the amazing help of Meta Trak UK and the Metropolitan Police who turned up with three dog vans.
'And, not only did they manage to get the pinpoint location of the car, but they also detained the suspect who is now in custody thanks to the police dogs who chased him and took him down."
The Range Rover Sport was taken from his drive on Wednesday April 30.
And Tom thinks that there should be harsher punishments for those who steal cars.
Heartstopping moment self-driving car smashes into van parked in driveway as driver is slapped with a ticket
'Sadly, the worst sentence someone can get for car theft is six months in prison and apparently, most get off with community service.
'Personally, I think there should be much harsher sentences for car thieves to deter them as it's rife, especially around London and Surrey.
'Big shout out to the Met Police officers who I have heard criticised previously for turning a bit of a blind eye to car theft but this shows that they will go after people in force and serve justice.
'Also I think it's time I got a gate or one of those retractable security bollards if anyone can hit me up with a contact.'
Surrey Police and the Met Police have been approached for comment.
It comes after we revealed the worst areas for car theft in the UK where thousands of motors are pinched every month.
Data from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) unveiled where each of the 61,343 cars nicked last year was stolen from.
It was revealed that the Ford Fiesta was the most frequently stolen model last year, with 4,446 of the compacts being nicked.
However, some of these pinched motors were far more valuable than your average Fiesta.
In fact, many exotic and pricey models of motor were nabbed last year, including a 2024 Ferrari Purosangue worth £375,000 that was taken from Hoddesdon in Hertfordshire.
Also making the costly list was a 2023 Rolls Royce Cullinan worth £270,000, nicked from Stanford-le-Hope in Essex.
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But the car thief was soon stopped and caught by police
Credit: Jam Press/Tom Jaconelli

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