Men working in hi-vis exposed as ‘highly sophisticated and dangerous’ crime gang
A rogue utilities firm was found to have teamed up with criminals nationwide to dig up roads and divert power to drug farms after residents became suspicious of men in hi-vis jackets.
The huge scam was smashed by police leading to 100 farms being uncovered and cannabis plants with a street value of £21million seized. The investigation began in January 2023 when North Wales Police received intelligence from residents in Bangor about suspicious activity at a long-abandoned shop on the high street.
Extensive modifications with cables and wiring had made the building unsafe, preventing officers from completing their searches. A utility company later confirmed the building’s power source had been illegally abstracted from the high street.
Manchester Evening News reports additional warrants were carried out at other empty properties on the same high street, which led to the recovery of a further £800,000 worth of cannabis plants. When officers reviewed CCTV footage, they discovered five men working on the high street in a liveried van bearing the registered company name Elev8. The footage showed these individuals engaging in activities that appeared to be legitimate utility work.
North Wales Police enlisted the assistance of North West Regional Organised Crime Unit (NWROCU) detectives and Operation Spark was launched, and NWROCU detectives began by carrying out further investigations and surveillance on Elev8. They discovered one of the men arrested as part of the conspiracy had previously been arrested by Merseyside Police and analysis of his phone found a WhatsApp chat group named Elev8 Civils & Utilities. Within the chat, the group discussed their work locations and shared multiple photographs and videos. The investigation found the racket spanned 32 police force areas from Dundee to Portsmouth.
Using a fake company and liveried vehicles to evade suspicion, they dug up pavements to access live mains connections, which they then spliced to run a direct feed to properties they had earmarked for cannabis cultivation. In February last year, coordinated strikes took place across the North West and North East to arrest the 10 members of the crime group.
The group, headed by company directors Ross McGinn, 33, from Huyton, Merseyside, and Andrew Roberts, 42, from Wigan, Greater Manchester, offered their services to Albanian organised crime groups, investigators from the North West Regional Organised Crime Unit (NWROCU) said. The firm was registered on Companies House and both McGinn and Roberts had LinkedIn profiles in which they posted photos of apparently legitimate work to promote the company.
Most of the cannabis farms were occupied by Albanian foreign nationals, acting as gardeners. When interviewed, many of these individuals said they were trafficked into the UK illegally due to debts they owed.
Last week eight men who were part of the organised crime group responsible for setting up cannabis farms across the UK were sentenced to more than 28 years at Liverpool Crown Court.
Detective Chief Inspector Zoe Russo from the NWROCU’s Operation’s Team said: “This crime group ran a highly sophisticated but dangerous operation, operating out of fake utility vans, which allowed them to work all over the country without raising suspicion.
“In WhatsApp conversations, we uncovered chats where group members sent pictures of injuries they had received ‘on site’ following electrical explosions. Andrew Roberts posted a picture of himself with injuries to his face after failing to connect something properly, causing an explosion that resulted in burns. This highlights the dangerous and reckless nature of their activities.
“In total we uncovered more than 100 cannabis farms, with a potential street value of more than £21m. This investigation has dismantled a significant criminal network, preventing a significant amount of drugs from reaching our streets and blighting our communities. I hope today’s sentencing sends a clear message we will not tolerate such organised crime in our communities.”
McGinn, on videolink from prison, wiped away tears as he was jailed for five years four months. Roberts was sentenced to six years.
Graham Roberts, 47, of Wigan, who pleaded guilty to encouraging and assisting an offence and conspiracy to abstract electricity, was jailed for five years three months for his key role as the jointer responsible for splicing and connecting live cables.
Groundworkers Greg Black, 29, of Huyton; Lewin Charles, 22, of Roby, Merseyside, Aiden Doran, 28, of Wigan, and Jack Sherry, 20, of Wigan, all pleaded guilty to encouraging and assisting an offence and conspiracy to abstract electricity.
Black was jailed for three years and nine months, Charles for two years and eight months and Doran was sentenced to three years. Sherry was given a 22-month sentence, suspended for 18 months, and ordered to carry out 100 hours of unpaid work.
White, who stole the equipment, was jailed for two and a half years after pleading guilty to conspiracy to steal and encouraging or assisting the abstraction of electricity.
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