Officers have recalled their encounter with a member of a notorious criminal gang – explaining how a poor choice in footwear revealed that all was not as it seemed.
PCs Pete Gardiner and Luke Bettridge were called to Mansfield Woodhouse on 29 January last yearafter an off-duty colleague became suspicious of a group of workmen digging up the road.
As the officers arrived on High Street, they were met by high-vis-clad Graham Roberts, who claimed that he and his colleagues were excavating the pavement to locate a water leak.
However, PC Gardiner then noticed a crucial detail that seemed out of place – Roberts’ flimsy pair of trainers.
He explained:
“At first, Roberts and the two men with him appeared legitimate. They were dressed in high-vis clothing and had most of the tools and accessories you’d expect at a genuine work site.
“But one thing you wouldn’t expect is someone wearing soft-shell trainers around heavy industrial machinery.
“That was an instant red flag and led us to arrest him on suspicion of unlawfully abstracting electricity and criminal damage.”
Back at the station, PC Gardiner and his colleagues discovered that Roberts was already the subject of a national investigation led by the North West Regional Organised Crime Unit.
He was later released on bail and subsequently charged for his role in a major national conspiracy.
Roberts, it turned out, was one of eight men involved in supplying electricity to cannabis farms operated across the UK by Albanian organised crime groups.
Operating in plain sight, their company, Elev8 Civils and Utilities Ltd, illegally connected houses, pubs, shops, and other empty buildings to the mains electricity grid – allowing the farms to operate without raising suspicion through unusually high utility bills.
Posing as legitimate workmen – complete with branded, sign-written vans – they operated between November 2023 and February 2024 in at least 54 different locations.
Following a three-year investigation, Roberts and his co-conspirators each pleaded guilty to conspiring to abstract electricity and an offence under the Serious Crime Act.
A key piece of evidence against them was recovered during their failed Mansfield Woodhouse operation – a GPS-enabled scanning device used to detect underground power cables.
When detectives examined the device’s internal memory, it revealed multiple other locations where the men had been digging.
Appearing at Liverpool Crown Court on 6 and 7 March, they were jailed for a combined total of 28 years.
PC Gardiner added:
“I’ve seen and heard a lot over my policing career and had reached the point where little surprised me – but this one really did take me aback due to the sheer audacity of the crime.
“I’m pleased this investigation has now concluded and that these men have received the prison sentences they deserve.”
