THIEVES responsible for stealing more than 400 car stereos before selling them on internet auction site eBay have been brought to justice thanks to Cheshire police.

Officers from the force's intelligence bureau noticed a pattern in the theft of Ford stereos in the county and launched an operation to determine where and how they were being sold.

Operation Rejoice, headed by Detective Constables John Thompson and Kate Connolly and involving officers from Merseyside, Lancashire and Greater Manchester, tracked crooks David O'Brien and Mark Kent on to eBay, where they were selling the stereos they had taken from Fords across the North West.

After discovering how the stereos were being sold on, officers monitored the criminals' activity on the web.

DC Thompson said: 'These criminals operated in an incredibly professional manner and the stereos were appearing on eBay just 30 minutes after they were stolen.

'Towards the end of the investigation, we discovered that in some cases stereos were even being advertised before they had been stolen and were being taken to order.

'The stereos taken were all from Fords, post 1996, and ranged from single-cassette models to multi-deck compact disc players and satellite navigation systems.

They were even offering a fitting service and received excellent feedback from their customers on the website.

'At the height of their operation, there were about 15 or 20 stereos being taken a week in Cheshire. That figure has reduced to around two or three since O'Brien and Kent were arrested and charged.'

DC Thompson said: 'DC Connolly and I put in hundreds of hours on this investigation, monitoring the internet, tracking eBay sales and liaising with other forces and we are delighted that the pair have been brought to justice.

'Operation Rejoice is an excellent example of how neighbouring forces can work together to stop prolific criminals.'

O'Brien and Kent, both from Huyton, were each sentenced to two and a half years' imprisonment while Phillip Porter and Derek Swift, who were accomplices, each received 12 months' community punishment with a requirement to carry out at least 200 hours 'unpaid work.

A fifth member of the gang, Kelsy Challinor, admitted handling stolen goods and was handed a 12-month community punishment order with a requirement to carry out at least 60 hours' un-paid work.