A gang followed a couple from Manchester Airport to their home in Wrexham before stealing their luggage. By the time the couple had seen one of the thieves in their hallway dressed in a dark coat they couldn’t catch him and he fled the scene.
It emerged at a sentencing hearing at Caernarfon Crown Court on Friday that the three burglars had followed the couple’s chauffer-driven car for hours before it reached their home in Wrexham. The three defendants – Arturo Flores-Marquez, Arturo Mendivil-Valvin and Jhony Ramirez-Loayza – stole a briefcase which contained $400, Thai currency worth £100, sensitive business documents and a banking fob.
Michael Whitty, prosecuting, told the court the incident happened on December 1, 2024 after the couple who had landed from holiday had been followed from the airport back to their home. The chauffeur exited the car on arrival in Wrexham and helped the couple unload the car, NorthWalesLive reports.
Arturo Mendivil-Valvin
(Image: North Wales Police)
Arturo Flores-Marques
(Image: North Wales Police)
The couple had put their belongings in the porch area of their home ready to put away. As they went further into the house one of them came back to the front of the house to see a man in a dark coat leaving the hallway. They then realised their briefcase which had been in the porch had disappeared.
North Wales Police were alerted and the force then traced a hired car which had been following the victims previously that day. On December 2 officers stopped the same hire car on the M602 in Greater Manchester and all three men were inside the vehicle. The men were also visible on the couple’s CCTV footage from the previous day.
Ramirez-Loayza, 56, of Hemberton Road, London, Mendivil-Valvin, 49, of Delta Street, London and Flores-Marquez, 59, of Upper Clapton Road, London, were all arrested at the scene. Referring to the owner of the house Mr Whitty said: “She has lost her peace of mind and her sense of safety in her home.” For the latest court reports, sign up to our crime newsletter here.
Counsel for Ramirez-Loayza and Mendivil-Valvin, Alun Williams, explained Ramirez-Loayza, who hired the car, is a Peruvian national living near Madrid in Spain with his wife and elderly parents. Mr Williams said Mendivil-Valvin is a Cuban national with a wife in Guatemala. He had entered the UK illegally and is anxious to support his family, Mr Williams explained.
Laura McMillan, defending Flores-Marquez, who is also Peruvian, said he had shown genuine remorse. He has four children and one of them has mobility problems, she said.
They all admitted burglary and were all jailed for two years and are likely to be deported, the court heard. Judge Timothy Petts said the men had shown a degree of planning. Two had visitors’ visas and one is in the UK illegally. All would serve half of their sentences then be deported if they hadn’t been deported by then already, he added.
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