A burglar who preyed on Raheem Sterling's mansion has been stripped of his own £250,000 home.
Thomas Mee targeted the Chelsea footballer 's Cheshire mansion along with Jamiroquai star Jay Kay's Buckinghamshire home during his criminal spree.
He was jailed for more than eight years in July 2020 after pleading guilty to conspiracy to burgle and handling stolen goods, reports the Liverpool Echo.
Mee and two other criminals targeted homes in Cheshire, Nottinghamshire, Worcestershire, Buckinghamshire and Warwickshire for almost two years from January 2018.
The men stole around £500k of luxury goods and snatched treasured family heirlooms, leaving homeowners heartbroken.
But Mee's downfall came in October 2019 when police received a 999 call from a resident in Cheshire saying that a relative had heard intruders at their Prestbury home.
He was arrested while trying to flee the property and was subsequently charged with the burglaries.
On November 16, the court ordered Mee to pay £249,012.17 within the next three months or face a further two years imprisonment.
The amount was determined from equity in his Liverpool home which will need to be sold along with cash, jewellery, designer clothing and funds from bank accounts.
A spokesperson from Cheshire Constabulary's SOCU said: “This is the perfect example of how crime does not pay and shows the lengths we will go to in order to target those who have profited from crime.
“Not only was Mee handed a lengthy prison sentence, but he also now must pay back every penny he made from his illegal exploits.
"POCA orders allow us to recoup all of criminal’s benefit from crime.
"By not only ensuring that criminals are locked behind bars, we are able to also ensure that they cannot enjoy any money received once a sentence is served.
“This money will now be repaid to the victims and will not be ploughed back into criminality.
"We will do all we can to ensure that criminals operating in Cheshire are unable to profit from their crimes and will work with our partners and the Crown Prosecution Service to use all available powers at our disposal."
