A CHILEAN crime gang who raided properties in Oxfordshire have been jailed.

The group of three were sentenced to a total of 21 years in prison for the spree of burglaries across Oxfordshire, Sussex, Croydon and south Wales.

Irancisco Javier Neira, 31, Julio Galdamez-Rodriguez, 20, and Luis Alberto Villarroel, 35 were each sentenced at Cardiff Crown Court on Friday.

The group targeted rural, detached houses and gained entry by smashing a rear patio door or window before stealing jewellery, money, passports and electrical items.

Among the series of burglaries they broke in to a home at Wendlebury on June 15 and another at Cotswold Road, Oxford, on May 22.

Following the sentencing Detective Constable Simon Reed who led the case for Gwent Police said: 'I would like to reassure our local residents that we are committed to tackling these types of reckless crimes and we will continue to proactively stop criminals who profit from other people's misery.

"The defendants show no regard for their victims and intended to callously scare and steal from them.

"The sentencing shows our relentless efforts to bring justice upon those who commit such serious crimes and the continuous work involved to dismantle organised crime.

"This investigation has been painstaking and I hope the community will take comfort in these sentences handed out."

Neira was jailed for six years, Galdamez-Rodriguez for nine years and Villarroel for a total of six years.