ANNEX 13: LOCAL AUTHORITY USE OF COMMUNICATIONS DATA
used by the perpetrators. A test purchase had been made prior to a warrant being
sought. A sting operation resulted in a seizure of trainers with a street value of
£325,000 and both offenders received a custodial sentence.
Without the
communications data this would not have been possible.
Counterfeit goods case study 2
16.
Officers seized some potentially counterfeit mirrors from a shop. By the time the
mirrors were confirmed as being counterfeit the trader had disappeared after failing to
attend for interview. The contact details he provided proved to be false. However,
officers obtained a mobile number for the trader and the subscriber details identified
his home address in Swansea. This enabled officers to contact him. He subsequently
pleaded guilty to 3 offences under the Trade Marks Act 1994. Without the access to
the communications data officers would not have been able to find the new address to
which he had moved and so the investigation would not have been able to proceed.
Barnet council – rent deposit scheme fraud
17.
A man and woman were jailed following a Barnet Council investigation to crack a highly
organised plot to obtain fraudulent payments from the authority by using a complex
web of false identities to open a string of bank accounts which were then activated to
receive thousands of pounds in fraudulent rent deposit scheme payments. The rent
deposit scheme is used by the council to provide people in need of housing with initial
financial support to help secure a tenancy for private rented accommodation.
18.
The investigation by the council’s Corporate Anti-Fraud Team [CAFT] was launched
after uncovering irregularities with a number of rent deposit payments. Investigators
went on to identify 41 fraudulent payments worth £132,629 which had been paid to
different bank accounts. During the course of the investigation a further 12 fraudulent
payments worth more than £31,600 were intercepted and blocked by CAFT.
19.
CAFT worked with NAFN to obtain mobile phone records, under RIPA, which provided
significant evidence to show that the accused were in regular contact on the days when
substantial withdrawals and deposits were made. The powers also enabled the
investigators to identify the real owners of the false identities by obtaining the mobile
phone service providers records which identified names and addresses where these
suspects could be found. The legislation also allowed information of redirected post
from credit card companies, banks and online purchase deliveries which also assisted
in tracing addresses that the suspects used which were then the subjects of police /
CAFT raids. Without access to this information the investigation would not have
proceeded to a useful outcome.
Landfill tax fraud
20.
A council was alerted to a skip hire company who were disposing of waste in an
unauthorised manner, including avoiding payment of landfill tax estimated at £1.3
million. Enquiries made by the council identified three suspects but there was no
evidence to link them to the offences. Subscriber and itemised billing data provided
by NAFN proved that there were regular communications between the individuals
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