3.25 In the first case Lothian and Borders Police commenced an investigation
when indecent images of child abuse were found on the hard drive of a computer
which was sent in for repair. The owner of the computer, Neil Strachan, was a
registered sex offender and he was arrested. The computer was forensically
examined and evidence was found to show that Strachan was a principal member
of a paedophile ring which was manufacturing and distributing indecent images
of children on a huge scale. The use of communications data was vital during the
course of this investigation because it helped the police to identify and trace a
large number of his accomplices and bring them to justice. In October 2009 Neil
Strachan and James Rennie both received life sentences and six other members
of the paedophile ring, which was by far the largest ever encountered in Scotland,
were jailed for approximately 43 years.
3.26 The second case also involved a paedophile ring which was based mainly in
the Northeast of England and North Wales but it has since been established that
indecent images of children have been sent to all corners of the UK. This group
of individuals was detected purely by chance when one of them mistakenly left
a mobile telephone on a bus in Newcastle City Centre. A member of the public
handed it in to Northumbria Police who initially examined it with the intention
of returning it to the owner and then the investigation was launched when it was
found to contain indecent material. It led them to a succession of other men, who
themselves had been sharing indecent material with fellow paedophiles, using other
handsets and computers, creating a UK-wide web of depravity. So far 21 arrests
have been made and approximately 100 packages of intelligence and evidence
have been sent to Forces nationwide. The acquisition of communications data was
central to this investigation and the original offender received an indeterminate
sentence when he appeared at Newcastle Crown Court in December 2009. He will
have to serve a minimum of 5 years before he can be considered for release.
3.27 Distraction burglary is where a bogus caller tells lies to gain entry into a
home or creates a diversion so that an accomplice can sneak in and steal property.
The perpetrators generally target the vulnerable and the elderly and often they
pose as officials from the water board, gas company or even police officers
to gain access to private houses. Once inside they will often use violence or
intimidation to force the householders to part with their possessions. Hampshire
Constabulary investigated three men who were responsible for over 70 distraction
burglary offences in Hampshire and other parts of the UK. The weight of the
communications data was a key factor in the offenders deciding to plead guilty.
In June 2009 they each received a sentence of 10 years imprisonment. In passing
sentence the Judge remarked that the three defendants had planned the offences in
a professional and calculated way and it was as bad a series of burglaries as had
ever been before him.
3.28 Drug trafficking organisations use mobile telephones and other
communications devices to conduct their criminal activities. One of the key
aims of the investigators is to attribute these devices to the individual members
of the drug trafficking group so that communications data can then be adduced
in evidence to help prove that they were conspiring with each other to commit
criminal offences. Invariably analytical charts are produced to show the location
of the communications devices throughout the period of the conspiracy and in
this way defendants can be linked with the key events, such as the importation or
distribution of quantities of controlled drugs. Suffolk Constabulary used this to
very good effect when intelligence indicated that an individual who had no visible
means of income had acquired vast wealth from drug trafficking. Ultimately
16 persons were charged with drug trafficking and they all pleaded guilty. The
seven principal defendants received sentences totalling 32 years. Street cash and
assets to the value of £750,000 have been seized together with quantities of Class
A drugs.
3.29 Police SPoCs throughout the UK provide a very valuable service to the staff
who carry out these investigations and often they make a significant contribution
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