Fake number plate criminal wanted by police gets caught out by drone camera hiding in his shed

Drone footage captured the moment a wanted crook tried to flee police when they raided his home. Daniel Day, 32, was seen dashing out the back door of the semi-detached property in Tipton, West Mids, and trying to hide in a workshop in the garden - but it was all caught on camera.

Drone operators tracked criminals location

Day made cloned number plates in his bedroom which he flogged to criminals who put them on stolen cars. The plates were used in dozens of violent crimes including burglaries, armed robberies and a shooting. Drone operators tracked him and guided officers on the ground to his location. He was arrested and handcuffed while officers discovered number plate making equipment and cash in his bedroom.

Officers discovered Day charged criminals £30 for a set of fake plates which he could produce in just 18 minutes. His crucial role in the criminal underworld came to light during another investigation into a gang who were using stolen cars in the Black Country. The gang ordered 94 sets of cloned plates from him in one year alone.

Fake plates used in armed robbery

The crooks would steal cars and pay him to make number plates that matched the make and model while also disguising the cars true identity. They even included logos of genuine dealerships. Day, known in the underworld as ‘Skell’, would meet with criminals in alley ways and disused car parks.

The fake plates were used in more than 140 crimes including an armed robbery at a post office in Dudley, a shooting in Wolverhampton and car key burglaries.

‘Trusted and reliable’ contact for criminal gangs

Detective Constable Kelly Whyte, of West Midlands Police Major Crime Proactive Team, said: “This was organised crime on an industrial scale. Day had built a reputation as someone who could supply criminals with number plates to disguise their identities and frustrate police, and he could do it incredibly quickly. He was so trusted and reliable, that we would often find his details in the phones of criminals he had had helped when we prosecuted them for other crimes.”