Gang of thieves steal 4 cars from two Edinburgh streets by breaking-in through windows to find keys in dead of night

A gang of thieves made off with four cars in part of Edinburgh by breaking-in through people’s windows to steal their car keys as they slept.
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Police are investigating the thefts which they believe took place between midnight and 8am on Thursday, June 17 in two streets in the south of the city which we are choosing not to name.

The force said three cars - a Nissan Qashqai, a Blue Audi TT and a blue Mini Countryman - were stolen from one street and another car, a black Land Rover Discovery, was stolen from another nearby road. Two of the cars, the Nissan Qashqai and the Audi TT, have since been recovered in Midlothian.

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One local resident whose house was broken into, who did not want to be named, said: “They could easily have found our car keys if they had gone into the kitchen but they did not.

A gang of thieves made off with four cars in part of Edinburgh by breaking-in through people’s windows to steal their car keys.A gang of thieves made off with four cars in part of Edinburgh by breaking-in through people’s windows to steal their car keys.
A gang of thieves made off with four cars in part of Edinburgh by breaking-in through people’s windows to steal their car keys.

“I have been in the house for 35 years and that was the first time I had been broken into.”

The resident said the window to their downstairs front room had been levered open and entry forced and that they found a number of cupboards and drawers had been opened – but they do not believe anything else was stolen that night. They also said they had to pay £100 to replace the window locks.

It is understood the culprits were disturbed at another house in the same street by a neighbour’s pet dog when it started barking.

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The resident praised police officers for how they dealt with the incident and said they also provided advice on security and prevention measures.

The car thefts come just a few weeks after a brazen thief entered an Edinburgh man’s home during the afternoon and stole his car key from the top of a bedroom cabinet, before driving the vehicle out of his driveway as he and his wife watched television in their living room.

The door to the man’s Prestonfield home was left open for a painter outside who had been perfecting a sunset mural on the fence around his garden decking.

In early May a white Audi, silver Ford Fiesta and dark blue BMW were taken from driveways on Gavin’s Lee, Tranent, following two house break-ins through back doors. Police launched an investigation and later recovered two of the vehicles.

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Later last month, a grey Audi S3 and a grey Audi A1 were stolen from outside a house in Dalyell Place, Armadale. These thefts happened overnight from Wednesday, May 26 into Thursday, May 27 and enquiries established that the cars were stolen at around 1am.

Police also appealed at the time to anyone with information or dash-cam footage to come forward.

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