A man who admitted being part of a conspiracy to steal £1m worth of Mercedes Sprinter vans across East Anglia has had his sentencing hearing adjourned.

A network of thieves scoured the East of England to find and steal a host of Mercedes Sprinter vans, between January 2017 and September 2019, which all had their electronic ignition switches (EIS) removed.

The switches were taken to Miroslav Pesko, who had the knowledge and equipment to read the data and reprogramme it - enabling the gang to put the updated switches in the vans and steal the vehicles without being tracked.

Viktoras Sakalauskas, 26, from Lithuania, appeared for sentence on Thursday, January 28 having previously admitted conspiracy to steal motor vehicles and fraudulently using a registration mark.

The case was adjourned until April 6 so that Judge Stephen Holt, who has sentenced other gang members, was available to hear the case.

A number of gang members have already been jailed, including Pesko, 41, from Middlesex, who was sentenced to five years in prison after he was found guilty of conspiracy to steal in November last year.