Three men have been jailed for a combined total of over 17 years, following a string of a burglaries across Chester, Ellesmere Port and Wirral.

Kelvin Franklin, Marlon Burrows and Alexander Emslie were sentenced at Chester Crown Court on Friday 12 December 2025.

Chester local Emslie, 64, was handed a two-and-a-half-year custodial sentence.

Franklin, of no fixed address, was sentenced to seven and a half years imprisonment. The 24-year-old was also handed a ten-year criminal behaviour order.

Burrows, 24, of Maud Street, Liverpool, was jailed for seven years and four months and was handed a ten-year criminal behaviour order.

Operation Hijacker was launched by Cheshire Police in response to a series of burglary and car thefts that occurred between Tuesday 18 February and Sunday 23 February 2025.

Franklin and Burrows had subsequently been identified as the burglary suspects, with enquiries into their mobile phones revealing that Franklin had been in the area of all the incidents when they had occurred.

The pair struck at night, with the burglars accessing properties that had been left insecure by residents and stealing car keys from inside whilst they slept.

The vehicles would then have their vehicle registration plates altered using black tape, making them appear different to those stolen.

Following an extensive investigation, officers from Cheshire Police conduced a section eight warrant at Emslie's home on Birchmuir on Tuesday 11 March.

All three suspects were located inside, with Franklin being found with class A drugs on his person and Burrows, wearing the same pair of thick, black-rimmed glasses seen in the CCTV footage, with noticeably wet arms upon his arrest.

It would later be revealed Franklin had flushed a mobile phone and SIM card down the toilet as officers entered the property, which was then recovered from a drain outside.

The trio of men were taking into custody to be questioned by officers in relation to the burglaries and car thefts.

Whist reviewing data take from their seized phones, officers found a number screenshots of cars and their prices on the phone of Franklin. The images of the cars and their prices matched all of those that had been stolen.

The 24-year-old had also sent a number of messages out to perspective buyers advertising the stolen cars for sale, directly making reference to the fact that they were "hot" (stolen). Other messages found across their devices also made direct reference to the sale of class A drugs.

In custody, the trio would answer 'no comment' to all questions put to them, but would subsequently plead guilty at court.

Franklin and Burrows admitted conspiracy to commit burglary, conspiracy to steal motor vehicles, being concerned in the supply of class A drugs (heroin and crack cocaine) and the possession with intent to supply heroin and crack cocaine.

Emslie admitted to being involved in one burglary, conspiracy to steal and allowing his home to be used for the distribution of class A drugs.

Detective Inspector Graeme Carvell, of the Major Crime Team, said: "I welcome these sentences, which reflect the organised criminality of those involved.

"Burglary is a deeply personal crime that can leave victims feeling unsafe and insecure in their own homes.

"Operation Hijacker was set up in direct response to these cross-border offences and the investigation team worked tirelessly to identify key evidence and locate, arrest and secure convictions against Franklin, Burrows and Emslie, which I hope will provide the victims with closure and reassurance".