Gangsters who stole millions of pounds worth of BMWs and Range Rovers from across London have been jailed.

11 men, including four from Walthamstow and one from Leyton, were sentenced at Southwark Crown Court on Friday (January 29).

Police launched an investigation into the gang, which was responsible for stealing vehicles such as BMW 5 and 6 Series and Range Rovers to order before altering their identities to make them appear legitimate.

This is a process known as “ringing”.

The majority of the cars were stolen overnight in keyless thefts, while others were stolen by gang members responded to adverts of cars on sale.

They then stole the vehicle during a test drive.

Police recovered over 40 stolen cars that had been “rung”, with a total value of around £1.5 million.

In June 2014, officers seized thousands of pounds in cash as well as "blank" car keys that had been programmed for recently stolen vehicles and the equipment that was being used to "ring" the stolen cars.

The 11 men were arrested after the search.

At Southwark Crown Court on Friday, four of the Waltham Forest-based defendants pleaded guilty to conspiracy to convert criminal property.

Yasser Shafiq, 31, of Stainforth Road, Walthamstow, was jailed for six-and-a-half years.

Shamoon Haroon, 27, of Fairview Close, Walthamstow, was jailed for six years and four months.

Rizwan Alam, 39, of Westerham Road, Leyton, was jailed for five years.

Ifzal Uddin, 32, of Coppermill Lane, Walthamstow, was jailed for six months.

Usman Afzal, 28, of St. Andrews Road, Walthamstow, pleaded guilty to fraud by false representation and was jailed for eight months.

Investigating officer detective sergeant Peter Ellis, said: ‘These individuals were well organised and employed sophisticated methods, both to steal the vehicles and to change their identities.

“They were ultimately responsible for the theft of a substantial number of high value vehicles, worth millions of pounds.

“They have been brought to justice as a result of a joint working approach between the DVLA and the organised vehicle crime unit.

“We will continue to work together to disrupt criminal groups in future.”