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00:15Come to your place, let's get an emergency.
00:18I'll attack on Morrison.
00:23I don't try to rob the shot.
00:27Two or three males.
00:30All dressed in black, with balaclavas on.
00:35Stay in your vehicle.
00:37Yeah.
00:40Come on, I'm in the back.
00:41I'm in the back.
00:44I hope they've done the shot.
00:46They've done the shot.
01:03Come on.
01:11How many times do we need to do?
01:22Do you need to go?
01:24Do you need to go on for weeks?
01:25Yeah, let's go.
01:27Conplane!
01:30There is two cash machines, I call it in the wall, both of them are open and both are empty.
01:38Police officers are responding to a cashpoint raid in the middle of the night at a supermarket in West Cumbria.
01:46All I know is there were street nails, valleys, black clothes.
01:52All three of them? Yeah.
01:54Do you have a description of the vehicle?
01:56Great saloon.
01:58Yeah, anything else?
02:0127 night bar control.
02:03Great saloon with one of them stupid exhausts on.
02:07And they've shot off.
02:08Yeah.
02:10An alert goes out for the robber's getaway car.
02:14Driving away at speed towards the E69.
02:17But they've fled the scene with the cash boxes.
02:20Good morning, everyone.
02:39The purpose of today's briefing is to make you aware about another ATM attack that's taken place overnight.
02:45The doors to the ATM have been forced open.
02:48We think there has been a loss somewhere in the region of £130,000, so this is a significant loss.
02:54This is out of the ordinary for us.
02:57This is the second ATM raid in the past 24 hours that Cumbria police are now investigating.
03:06These stills have been recovered from the CCTV near to the ATM machine.
03:09You can see this should appear to be some kind of equipment that's going to be used to gain access
03:14to this ATM machine.
03:18It's a really audacious thing to do.
03:21They've bypassed a number of security measures in a very short period of time in order to secure a significant
03:26amount of cash.
03:28We don't know the identity of those people involved.
03:30We don't know where they've come from, where they've gone to afterwards.
03:33So there's a lot of questions that we need to understand.
03:36Just want to make it clear, this isn't a victimless crime that we're investigating here.
03:40They are sophisticated criminals.
03:42Let's just bear in mind everyone's safety when we're going out of here right now.
03:46Let's get cracked on then, thank you.
03:49These ATM robberies, they are very slick at what they do.
03:53They're willing to take quite significant risks in order to reap some quite high rewards.
03:59I believe that these people are likely to do whatever it takes in order to avoid being cut.
04:10Come back please.
04:11No, it's not exactly an emergency.
04:13Have there been a cash machine robbed lately?
04:16Because there's some cash drawers lying around in a field and there's money lying around.
04:24Gosh.
04:25I'll get officers there now.
04:31The empty cash boxes are recovered and sent to forensic investigator Jason Goodwin for urgent examination.
04:43Right, let me have a look.
04:45These are the cash boxes that have been stolen from Morrisons.
04:50What we're looking for is any fingerprints.
04:54The offenders might get a bit sloppy once they've taken the items away from the scene.
04:59If they've got gloves on, they could potentially take them off when they're trying to get into these cash boxes.
05:08These cash cassettes that come from the farmers field, they probably thought they may never get found for a number
05:14of days or weeks.
05:15But fortunately for us, they've been found within hours of the offence.
05:20While the boxes are sent for fingerprint analysis, Jason takes a closer look at the damage on the ATMs to
05:28work out how the gang forced them open.
05:30There's some distinctive tool marks on the ATM machine.
05:34It looks like an angle grinder has been used to cut through the ATM doors.
05:45There's also a series of unusual horizontal markings from some other implement that's being used.
05:54Some sort of high powered gripping tool.
05:59Getting into the back of ATM machines is not an easy task.
06:03You need specialist equipment.
06:05It takes a great deal of organisation and planning.
06:09So it's unlikely to be local criminals that have done that.
06:13It's quite unusual and it could be they're coming from further afield into our area.
06:26170 miles away, reports of the Cumbrian raids are shared with a specialist task force.
06:34Detective Inspector Alan Teague is chasing a prolific criminal gang suspected of robbing ATMs nationwide.
06:43This is a briefing to update progress on Operation TCAP, targeting an organised crime group based in the West Midlands,
06:50who have committed a series of attacks on cash machines at rural locations across the country.
06:56We've been sent CCTV from the offences that have been committed up in Cumbria.
07:01The hallmarks of this offence are very, very similar to the organised crime group that we're investigating.
07:08In recent months, the gang has struck repeatedly, escaping with nearly a quarter of a million pounds in cash.
07:17The challenge with investigating an OCG is always that they're trying to stay one step ahead of us.
07:25ATMs are inherently difficult to get into.
07:30But they have a very specific MO with the machinery that they use to break them open.
07:39They've found the quickest way is through the use of specialist cutting machinery.
07:48That's the reason why we've named the group J-O-L.
07:53Or Jaws of Life.
07:56The Jaws of Life, which the fire brigade need for emergency situations.
08:00They're used to try to cut open cars that have been involved in accidents to save people.
08:09They've stolen hundreds of thousands of pounds.
08:12They're quite willing to use violence during the commission of the offence.
08:18They travel at really, really dangerous high speeds.
08:26They've used rocks to ward police off.
08:40There's no doubt about it.
08:42This gang aren't going to stop unless we catch them.
08:49The task force begins by trying to work out if the same Jaws of Life gang are now targeting Cumbria.
08:58Similar MO, four offenders in an Audi RS3.
09:06Offenders exit the vehicle.
09:11Used a disc cutter and Jaws of Life to force open the side door that leads to the ATM.
09:18And again, the Jaws of Life is on the ATM in order to steal the cash boxes from within.
09:25Whilst one offender stands outside on guard with a bat in their hand.
09:38They're far from what you'd describe as an amateur outfit.
09:42We're going to be working with colleagues from Cumbria Police from this point onwards.
09:46The opportunities that present themselves from these most recent offences up in Cumbria
09:50mean that we need to act at pace now.
09:52The gang are proving to be a difficult proposition for us at this time because they've left no trace behind
09:58so far.
10:00It's an absolute priority for us and our colleagues in Cumbria now to try to identify where the offenders are.
10:07We don't know where they're going to strike next.
10:16While the task force gathers intel in the West Midlands,
10:20Cumbria Police take the lead on the forensic investigation from the crime scenes.
10:26It's in a semi-rural area, so there's going to be limited CCTV opportunities.
10:31A team heads out to search for any sign of the getaway car near to where the boxes were dumped.
10:39So, you never know, we might get something by the answer today.
10:42That's great mate, it's a good lead isn't it?
10:44We'll get on that straight away, nice one.
10:46OK.
10:50Cumbria has always been thought of as a sleepy rural community where crime doesn't really occur.
10:57To me that's not the case.
10:58We have to think outside the box, we have to consider what might they have not have thought about
11:03to disrupt this group to try and catch them.
11:15The cash boxes are the only potential forensic lead in the case.
11:23Investigator Helen Pendry searches for fingerprints using UV lighting.
11:28I'm just going to slowly examine the cash cassette.
11:35The blue crime light fluoresces any areas of friction-rich detail present on the exhibit.
11:47This is the area where the money would be placed and obviously removed.
11:54A couple of areas of where potentially somebody's touched it.
12:00But unfortunately, not very clear, it's more of a smudge rather than definite fingerprints sadly.
12:11But this is what happens, people are very forensically aware and not found anything.
12:20The conclusions to be drawn from that are just they've never took the gloves off.
12:25They've never exposed the fingerprints to those items.
12:28The other possibility is they've wiped it down.
12:32So at this stage, we've got no idea who these offenders are.
12:36They always seem to be one step ahead.
12:45PHONE RINGS
12:47You've come to your police, what's your emergency?
12:49This bar shop in Brampton appears to have been broken in two and I think there's smoke in there.
12:55You're on the line, we're going to get officers travelling.
13:00I can smell something smells like tottle angle grinder.
13:05Is there an ATM at Big Bats Bar?
13:08Yeah.
13:10In the early hours, just a day after the last raid,
13:15Cumbria police are called to another ATM burglary in progress.
13:21Police!
13:23Show yourselves!
13:29Oh my God!
13:31They've angle-grounded the back of the safe.
13:37But...
13:41I don't think they've got it off.
13:43I don't know why they've left.
13:46This time, the thieves have fled empty-handed.
13:52Which, what kind of car was it?
13:54Grey?
13:56Grey.
13:56Right, okay.
13:57Small, big hatchback.
13:59What car?
14:00Right, okay.
14:02It is the same vehicle as yesterday.
14:04I've just spoken to a member of the public that's in a small grey hatchback.
14:10The grey car matches the description from all three offences.
14:16We are ahead in general direction.
14:19But once again, the gang have made a clean getaway.
14:36So this is the third offence we've had now in three days up in Cumbria.
14:39Yeah.
14:41Fearing the Jaws of Life gang have struck again.
14:46Taskforce lead Alan Teague and DC Mark Plant have requested CCTV from the latest attack.
15:00They break into the front entrance of the store.
15:08And we can see the Jaws of Life as they go inside.
15:15Angle grinder.
15:21And one outside with the bat.
15:25Just pause it there?
15:27Yep.
15:28No chance that we can see a registration plate, is there?
15:31It's just a blur.
15:33The grey Audi's obviously been present now at three offences.
15:36It's probably a stolen vehicle.
15:42Trying to locate that grey Audi RS3 is absolutely a priority for us at this moment in time.
15:49We need to identify where that car is and to recover that vehicle,
15:53hopefully with the offenders present.
15:58A gang of this type will eventually slip up.
16:05We can see them passing police patrol car.
16:18Totally unaware of what's going on inside the store.
16:21The man with the bat there, he's seen them.
16:24And he goes back into the store to alert other members of the group.
16:30They leave empty-handed.
16:33They get back into the grey RS3.
16:37From the CCTV we can see that this group appear to be more brazen now.
16:41They're getting very brave.
16:46It seems like Cumbia's now under attack.
17:06What's your first name?
17:07Daniel.
17:08Daniel Ryan.
17:09Do you hear you from round here?
17:10Daniel Ryan.
17:11Daniel Ryan.
17:1320 miles away from last night's burglary,
17:17Cumbria patrol officers pull over a tow truck
17:20after spotting something suspicious.
17:24Yeah, we stopped the loader and then the Audi was just covered up.
17:27It was passing as we were coming out of HQ.
17:31Have you put the VIN on the log?
17:32Yeah, it's stolen.
17:34The grey Audi RS3 was reported stolen a week ago
17:39and as a match for the getaway car seen on CCTV.
17:43Go ahead.
17:46He told me, he said, there's an electrical force inside.
17:50He's trying to fix it, he can't fix it or something.
17:52So he told him to both sides of me again.
17:55That's all I know.
17:57Just watch him a sec.
18:02We're doing a cursory search of the cab of this vehicle.
18:05When we've lifted the front passenger seats up,
18:07there's wedges of money underneath it.
18:11Due to the circumstances...
18:13You're arrested for fishing a burglary.
18:14You don't have to say anything to me.
18:16I'm in defence.
18:16If you don't mention my question,
18:17you can put it to that line in.
18:18Well, let's try.
18:19Anything you do, say me again.
18:22You'll piss me off, man, because, you know what I mean?
18:24This is bullshit.
18:25I understand that.
18:27I understand that.
18:27The parking people ask me to drive.
18:29Pick so much up.
18:29I'll pick it up.
18:30Someone asks me to drop something off.
18:31I'll drop things fucking off.
18:33Forensic couplets for this.
18:34So nobody in it.
18:35Nobody in it.
18:37Good spot, no, yeah?
18:38You could get the right place, right time.
18:40You could get the right place, right time.
18:49With a major breakthrough in the case...
18:53Simon, get in your round.
18:57The driver, Daniel Hickenbottom, is taken to be questioned.
19:03You were arrested earlier today on suspicion of burglary.
19:10Let's just start from last night, midnight.
19:13Where were you?
19:14No comment.
19:16LDRS3, which is on the trailer, he was towing.
19:19Were you aware that that vehicle was cleared to be stolen?
19:22No comment.
19:23This vehicle is cleared to be linked to three burglaries.
19:26Have you driven that vehicle in Cumbria?
19:30No comment.
19:43The discovery of the Audi, it could be the vital evidence.
19:49The Audi's been identified at several jobs over consecutive days now.
19:56So the longer they're in contact with the vehicle, that's the time when they can slip up.
20:03We're going to be looking for DNA opportunities, fingerprint opportunities, anything that we can use to identify these individuals.
20:17Inside that ram, which you've been driving, £4,000 in cash were found underneath the passenger seat.
20:25What can you tell me about that money?
20:27No comment.
20:28Did you get it when you met whoever these people are to pick up this car?
20:34No.
20:35No.
20:37No.
20:37We don't know the role that Daniel Hickamotten's played.
20:39We don't know whether he's been one of the males at the cash machine.
20:42We don't know whether he's playing a more ancillary role, like the movement of vehicles or assets.
20:50I want to get to the bottom of this because I want to know who's done it.
20:53And I want to send out a message that if you come to Cumbria and you commit crime, then expect
20:58us to come after you.
21:15In the West Midlands, Alan meets with the Cumbria team to talk through the evidence they have so far on
21:21Daniel's involvement in the raids.
21:25Morning, Alan.
21:27Stephen.
21:27Stephen, Jason, good to see you this morning.
21:29I understand that you've recovered an Audi.
21:31A tremendous result from our perspective.
21:35The downside for them is that they've allowed the tarpaulin to blow over on the vehicle.
21:39And fortunately, your traffic officers, who have been very switched on, have been able to see that vehicle, stop it
21:45and make the arrest.
21:46So this would appear to be the first mistake that they've made and the opportunity that we've been waiting for
21:52for some months now.
21:52So we have got Daniel in custody, just finished interviewing and now that low load there on the Audi has
21:59come from a base quite near to where the arrest is then late.
22:04So we think that they've been staying somewhere fairly local.
22:08So they may still be in the area?
22:11Yeah.
22:12OK, Jason, just in relation to the Audi, could you just give us a bit of an overview as to
22:16what you've found inside that vehicle?
22:18We've got various items, including a load of rocks or bricks, disinfectant bottles to wipe down things, you know, to
22:27be forensically aware.
22:29And we've also covered at least half a dozen VRM plates from the vehicle.
22:34But absolutely nothing with regards to physical fingerprint evidence on this vehicle.
22:48So far, this group have been one step ahead of us in terms of their ability to avoid detection.
22:56It's frustrating that we haven't generated significant amounts of evidence.
23:01The risk to the public, whilst this gang is still at large, is significant.
23:07So the pressure is on.
23:13We are going to release you out on police bail.
23:16How are you feeling about going home?
23:18Happy.
23:19With no evidence linking Daniel to the burglaries, he is released on bail.
23:26And his phone is seized for further investigation.
23:36Go into locations.
23:38See if there's anywhere that have been geo-tagged.
23:42To find out more about what Daniel was doing in Cumbria, his phone data is downloaded and sent for forensic
23:49examination by Detective Constable Joe Tidmarsh.
23:53So it looks like, looking at the phone, we've got about 397 chats.
23:59About 1,700 call logs.
24:03And about 209 locations where the phones hit.
24:11Ah.
24:12So it looks like this mobile phone was actually in Cumbria on the 10th of August.
24:31So you've got this one here.
24:32As you've come past.
24:36Then you have to go drive into them gates.
24:47That's interesting, that.
24:49He's kind of made a video to kind of explain where he is and where to go and kind of
24:56the entry and exit points.
24:58The video was filmed by Daniel a few days before the first raid in Cumbria.
25:23The clip clearly shows the Audi getaway car linked to all three raids parked outside the property.
25:33I look around the time of the offence.
25:39What's interesting is Daniel receives what looks like a WhatsApp saying,
25:47thanks for booking with cottages.com.
25:51That's a booking confirmation for the bungalow.
25:59That's just outside of Carlisle.
26:03Looks very similar to the cottage that he's filming.
26:12This could be a real turning point in the investigation.
26:16The Audi is the same vehicle and therefore we can now link the bungalow to each of the three different
26:26ATM sites.
26:27This may be where the suspects have been basing themselves.
26:31So there is the potential for forensic evidence that has been left at that address that may really help us
26:37to identify who is responsible for this.
26:44At the bungalow, the occupants have already checked out.
26:54Crime scene investigators begin a search for any hidden traces such as hair or fingerprints that may have been left
27:03by the offenders.
27:12The owner of the holiday let informed us that when they've actually gone in to clean up the address, they've
27:19noticed that the bedding on all the beds was freshly laundered.
27:26So again, like the Audi, they've gone to town covering the tracks forensically.
27:36Although the interior appears spotless, outside the search team make a significant discovery.
27:59A black bin bag full of rubbish has been recovered.
28:04Each item must be tagged and assessed for potential forensic analysis.
28:11Within the black bin bag that was recovered from the wheelie bins at the back of the property,
28:17you've got quite a selection of loose cans, bottles, lots of drinks vessels, tissues.
28:23Wow, there's loads there, isn't there?
28:26Yeah.
28:27And we've got these antibacterial surface cleaners.
28:32We've got Red Bull cans.
28:33We've got a lot of clothing tags.
28:38Within the bin bag, we're looking at over 100 exhibits.
28:43But we don't know what is going to be useful to an investigation until we go through that meticulously.
28:50Then we'll concentrate on high-priority submissions to our fingerprint enhancement lab.
28:56We've got a pot noodle, lots of takeaway.
29:02McDonald's, this does contain a receipt in this.
29:10Is that some handwriting on it as well?
29:12Yeah, it appears to be a partial VRM.
29:16So it's probably gone through the drive-through and the staff have wrote a part number place on it.
29:20Yeah.
29:22What's the date, can you say?
29:25It is the 11th of the 8th.
29:28And it's at 10.27 the morning.
29:31It's brilliant.
29:38Officers are sent to retrieve CCTV from McDonald's, matching the time on the receipt.
29:50This footage has been sent from our Cumbria colleagues, and it's from a McDonald's.
29:55Approximately five miles from the cottage where we believe our suspects are actually staying.
30:00In the West Midlands, Mark begins searching the downloaded footage for customers using the drive-through.
30:08We know from the receipt that it was a drive-through that was used because of the parcel registration.
30:19I'm just trying to see if I can pick out the vehicle and hopefully identify the person.
30:33It seems quite busy at McDonald's.
30:36There's numerous vehicles on there.
30:40There's a family here in a silver vehicle that's not going to be related to any of our suspects or
30:45the investigation.
30:53Oh, here we go.
30:56This clip I've got now from the serving hatch.
31:03He's a white male wearing sunglasses.
31:09He's waiting for his order.
31:13He's the only occupant of the vehicle.
31:19He's the only occupant of the vehicle.
31:19That one can't see the registration number.
31:24But we need to get a better angle from CCTV.
31:32This view is the same car.
31:36But the rear of the vehicle.
31:41Got it.
31:45It's a white Vauxhall Mocker and the registration is YBT.
31:52Which matches the receipt.
31:55Now I've got the full registration.
31:57We can do some checks on that.
32:04This vehicle is linked to this person, Craig Howell.
32:13Mark runs the name on the police national computer to see if this man is known to police.
32:23Previous convictions for theft, burglary, burglary of a non-dwelling, and also wounding with intent, grievous bodily harm, for which
32:34he received a seven-year imprisonment.
32:41The first time he was arrested, he was just a teenager.
32:45There's numerous arrests spanning nearly 30 years.
32:52Definitely a career criminal.
32:56And the images, they're not dissimilar.
32:59A white male of a similar age on CCTV with McDonald's.
33:04So, this is Craig Howell.
33:14Craig Howell is based in the West Midlands and has previous convictions for serious assaults.
33:21But, if I was to make one arrest, this would quickly tip off all of the others that were on
33:26their case.
33:27So, I want to identify all of the members of the group before we make any arrests.
33:32At this stage, we don't know who the ringleader is.
33:35But, for me, the net is starting to close on this group now.
33:41Investigators start tracking motorway cameras to piece together Howell's movements in Cumbria,
33:46in the hope he may lead them to the rest of the gang.
33:51Oh no, I've got something.
33:53OK, ANPR data for Craig Howell's white Vauxhall mocker.
33:58It shows movement from the Wolverhampton area,
34:01and it moves north to the Cumbria area, arriving around about half past two,
34:05to the area where the offences were committed the day before.
34:12Following the offences, that same vehicle makes a journey south,
34:15back toward the train station.
34:18Howell's car makes a stop at Penrith train station,
34:22before returning to the West Midlands.
34:26The task force urgently requests the station CCTV to analyse.
34:34Boss, do you want to come and have a look at this?
34:36CCTV just been sent through at Penrith train station.
34:41So this is an external camera at the railway station in Penrith,
34:44and you can see the white Vauxhall mocker that we know is linked to Craig Howell.
34:51Interesting now that two people have got out walking into the station.
34:57I can't see the facial from the outside.
34:59We haven't got to hide in from that.
35:05Unfortunately, that lady blocks it, I think.
35:08Playback speed, slow it down.
35:11Oh, here we go.
35:13This is better.
35:16You know who that is, don't you?
35:18It's Noel Reilly.
35:21Brilliant.
35:24Noel Reilly is a significant criminal from the West Midlands Force area.
35:28I've known Noel Reilly as long as I've been in the job.
35:36First arrest was in 1997.
35:38Looks nothing like it, does it?
35:40It doesn't, does it?
35:41Wow.
35:44Reilly has a long-standing history of convictions for similar types of offending.
35:49Theft of cash from ATM machines and through quite violent means.
35:54As you can see, he's certainly been around investigations
35:57that I've been involved in for the past 26 years.
36:01Released in 2023, and then, lo and behold, he's back to his old ways.
36:06Offending, targeting ATMs again.
36:09Next, they scan for images that can give a clearer view
36:12to identify the second man.
36:16That one? That one?
36:17That one, I think, yeah.
36:19This is an internal camera now.
36:21Look at the ticket office.
36:22Very clear.
36:25Oh, there we go.
36:27That is Simon Padgett, 100%.
36:29You've dealt with him before, haven't you?
36:31I have.
36:31It was a few years ago now, when he was arrested for a serious offence.
36:35That is him.
36:37Brilliant stuff.
36:50With three potential gang members now identified, West Midlands Police launch simultaneous raids.
36:59Live at load, proof clear.
37:06Are you all good to go?
37:08Yes, yes.
37:09Unicorn back row one?
37:10Yes, sir.
37:12Unicorn back row one?
37:14Yeah, ready.
37:16Unicorn back row two?
37:18OK.
37:19We're ready.
37:20All units proceed, then, please.
37:23Come on, George, get off.
37:41Unicorn back row two?
37:45No, I'm not gonna fly.
37:48No, I'm not gonna fly.
37:48No, there's smoke.
37:50Let's get some shit out of here.
37:51You're gonna fly, don't you?
37:51No, there's some shit out.
37:57Don't over, don't over.
38:08Wait!
38:08What are you doing here?
38:09Wait, wait!
38:11Wait, wait!
38:11Now let's do it, this is the case.
38:13You're under arrest, you're doing experiencing the burglars.
38:25Obviously, the officers have explained why we're here,
38:27but there's clearly a reason why.
38:28We don't just...
38:30We'll just get some clothes on.
38:32Yeah, slip seven.
38:33All right, sir.
38:38These officers here, we're going to take you down.
38:39All right, sir?
38:40We'll take you so I'll be all right, mate, OK?
38:42It's great.
38:44What's going in here?
38:47Take a sec.
38:49Good work.
38:50Told you job.
39:00All three suspects, Noel Riley, Simon Padgett and Craig Howell,
39:08are brought into custody to be questioned,
39:11along with Daniel Hickenbottom, who is re-arrested at home.
39:19Have you been arrested before?
39:21Yeah.
39:23Have you been arrested for?
39:24Conspiracy to burgle.
39:27Conspiracy to commit robbery.
39:29And conspiracy to handle stolen property.
39:32These offenses have resulted in the theft of hundreds of thousands of pounds.
39:37Oh, please, can you just help to fix my fucking door?
39:41Because I couldn't give a shit about the offenses.
39:43Just fix the fucking door.
39:44Yeah.
39:44Come down, break the door.
39:46Scare the fucking kids, but please fix the door.
39:49Because I'm sick of spending £1,200 on fucking doors.
39:51Mine's a fucking joke.
39:52That's cool.
39:58Detectives now have 24 hours to hold the suspects,
40:02and find enough evidence to charge them.
40:07A fingertip search of their homes gets underway,
40:11looking for phones or anything else that may link them to the cash raids.
40:29So, there's his current mobile phone.
40:32There's an iPhone 15 Pro, an iPhone XR, an iPhone SE.
40:37Phone's in the lounge as well.
40:42Markers, please, gentlemen.
40:43We've got firearms, drugs, weapons, and prolific offenders.
40:49Mate, I've got markers for everything,
40:51but I'm just the nicest man you'll ever meet.
40:54I don't know where they get them from.
41:00These are old-school offenders
41:02who are involved in serious or organised crime.
41:05The evidence recovered so far is really significant,
41:09but on its own is not enough in order to secure convictions.
41:15It's really important to prove that these people
41:17have been in the bungalow up in Cumbria,
41:20from which I believe they operated their criminal enterprise
41:25over the course of those three days.
41:28Mr Craig, I just need to do fingerprints and photograph.
41:32My hope is that they will have left sufficient evidence behind
41:35to link the members of the group to that location.
41:39Surely you don't still catch people by fingerprints now?
41:43He'll be amazed.
41:45I don't know, mate.
41:46I love some money and fucking pound waste.
41:48For fuck's sake!
42:00In Cumbria, over a hundred items of evidence
42:04from the bin outside the bungalow have arrived
42:07for investigator Helen Pendry to examine.
42:13So we've got a food container.
42:16I'll just have a look visually to see if I can see anything.
42:23This looks pretty clean, to be fair.
42:28I don't see any parent fingerprints.
42:30We've got a load of items.
42:33Everything's been rammed into this bag.
42:35You've got food material in there, you've got liquids,
42:38so that presents some contamination issues.
42:41It can interfere with our fingerprint results on these items.
42:48She applies a chemical dye to try and improve the chances of finding a print.
43:07Yeah, there's areas of ridges, but unfortunately,
43:13they're not very clear and there's no pattern as such.
43:21Although you can see where somebody's touched it,
43:24there is absolutely nothing of value for the Bureau,
43:28which is disappointing.
43:33And I'll just do the same process again.
43:38One item down, Helen still has dozens more to examine
43:42in the hope of finding a forensic link.
43:46Have they let their guard down?
43:49However sophisticated and organised this group are,
43:52this is the opportunity that we've been waiting for.
43:55Yeah, that's all right.
43:56Yeah, go around, mate.
44:03Could you please state your full name and date of birth for me?
44:05Craig, Carl.
44:06Thank you, Craig.
44:07Between the 10th and 13th of August, we had some offences in Cumbria.
44:11Yeah.
44:11So there was three ATM attacks in Cumbria.
44:19Offenders have arrived in a grey Audi RS3.
44:23CCTV images here of that location and that offence.
44:28You see the Audi first up and the males get out.
44:32Are you any of those males in that CCTV?
44:34No comment.
44:37They attack the ATM machine with an angle grinder, jaws of life.
44:41They're also carrying an axe and they have crowbars.
44:44Did you sell that money, Craig?
44:46No comment.
44:47Did you ask us to look out?
44:49No comment.
44:49Did you conspire with anybody to commit that offence?
44:52No comment.
44:58No comment.
44:58Can you please state your full name and date of birth?
44:59No, Lansing, Riley.
45:01Do you know anything about those offences, Storm?
45:05You're not answering the questions, you understand.
45:07You've got your right to silence.
45:09Do you know that male by the name of Craig Howell?
45:13Where did you meet him?
45:15Did you see him often?
45:17His house or anywhere else?
45:20Can you please state your full name?
45:21I'm Padgett.
45:22These events now, the next few events I'm going to talk about,
45:25are around one area in Cumbria.
45:27Have you ever stayed there?
45:28No comment.
45:29Do you know anything about the bungalow?
45:30No comment.
45:32£128,430 were stolen from two ATMs.
45:35Do you know anything about that?
45:36No comment.
45:38Do you know that now to be Noel Riley?
45:40No comment.
45:42With none of the group admitting to knowing each other...
45:45That one's going to be a primary device,
45:47so definitely take a look at those.
45:50Digital Forensic Officers in the West Midlands
45:52focus on accessing their phone data.
45:56So we might be able to get some potential contacts
45:59or communications off those.
46:01So you're just looking for messages?
46:03Yeah.
46:04This one's powered on as well.
46:07We have a couple of options available
46:09where we can try and brute force the passcode.
46:12The success massively varies.
46:14It depends on the sort of device.
46:18Specialist software is used to unlock them.
46:22And the downloads are sent to Mark
46:24to comb for any links to the raids in Cumbria.
46:29I'm investigating the phone download of Craig Howell.
46:34There appears to be no media, videos or photographs on there.
46:39Which is very unusual.
46:43It's just general chit-chat between family members.
46:47I can find no links to Noel Riley or Simon Paget on this phone.
46:53There's nothing on here that will help us with the investigation.
46:57The organised crime groups are members of a criminal fraternity.
47:02One of the first challenges is actually find out
47:04how they work together, how they travel around.
47:07Of course you can make inroads then
47:09of where that person's been, who they associate with.
47:12Some family photographs of Noel with his children.
47:17As you would expect on a phone.
47:28SIMON Paget's phone.
47:29There's lots of photographs of SIMON with his family.
47:34Oh yeah.
47:35This is a stag do.
47:38Like I said, Noel Riley.
47:41SIMON Paget, Craig Howell.
47:44He's having a while over time.
47:46We're on the right track.
47:48Simon and Craig Howell there.
47:49It shows they are associates.
47:56Although he can show the suspects know each other,
47:59there's no hard evidence that they are the Jaws of Life gang.
48:03But digging deeper,
48:05Mark discovers a recent voice note sent from Noel Riley,
48:08apparently to fellow gang members.
48:11Let them cunts carry on doing what they're doing.
48:13They could be watching any person.
48:15We're not stupid enough, mate.
48:17I wish we all had five passports, mate.
48:19I'll be around Europe doing them, mate,
48:21but we're not knowing any big heroes that have them, mate.
48:23We need to mix it up.
48:25Well, that message seems quite incriminating to me.
48:29He's not actually admitting to any offences,
48:31but he's alluding to the fact that they need to lay low for a while.
48:37He's actually boasting that the police have got nothing on them.
48:40No evidence.
48:43And I think they believe they're untouchable.
48:50Searches of property linked to the gang have found
48:54high-performance cars,
48:58industrial cutting equipment,
49:00and a stash of counterfeit cigarettes
49:03with a street value of over £1 million.
49:09And in Craig Howell's shed,
49:12officers make another crucial discovery.
49:16Recovered from the shed in the rear garden,
49:18we found jewels of life.
49:19Did you put it there?
49:20No.
49:22Are you holding it for somebody?
49:23No.
49:26Craig, are you going to be frenzied to lead to anything?
49:28No problem.
49:29Do they fingerprints or DNA?
49:31No problem.
49:33With the net closing in,
49:36officers continue piecing together each gang member's part
49:39in the orchestrated raids.
49:45Would you go inside and attack the ATM?
49:47Or have you got no knowledge about what I'm talking about at all?
49:51It's very slick.
49:52Not people running around like headless chickens.
49:54Everyone seems to know what they're meant to do.
49:57Is that you?
50:00Are you one of the key people?
50:03What was your share of the stolen money?
50:07I don't know. Do you want to say anything at all?
50:14Did you drive that white Vauxhall maca to Cumbria?
50:18No, Cumbria.
50:20Why was it that you dropped them at the train station,
50:23but then travelled the same journey as them back down to the West Midlands?
50:27No comment.
50:29Is that to separate yourselves from each other?
50:31No comment.
50:36The evidence that's been recovered so far on its own
50:41just isn't enough.
50:43We need more evidence to prove that they've committed offences in Cumbria
50:48because failure to secure charges will mean bailing these individuals,
50:53which would allow them to continue with their offending.
50:57With limited time remaining to hold the gang in custody,
51:02hope for a forensic breakthrough now rests on the single bag of rubbish
51:05left outside their hideout.
51:17This is exciting.
51:18You can see where at some point it's been touched.
51:21After analysing over a hundred items of evidence from the rubbish bag,
51:26Helen has found fingerprints on a clothing tag.
51:30This has got ridge detail, which is quite nice, especially on a darker background.
51:38Next is an energy drink.
51:41This is looking quite positive. This is good.
51:44Something like this, it's worthwhile because we've had quite a number of exhibits from this case
51:49and a lot of them have been negative.
51:52And lastly, she examines a can of cherry cola.
51:57We find areas of friction ridge detail. There's a small section here.
52:04There's a number of digits, so it's a sequence perhaps.
52:11And that's where we get the result we need.
52:14If we can prove forensically that they've stayed up here in this location,
52:20which is within proximity of these ATM attacks at the same time,
52:25with the Audi that's being recovered, that then now becomes really powerful.
52:36I'm analysing a ridge detail that's been recovered from a Red Bull can.
52:42The ridge details are fast-tracked to examiner David Holmes
52:46to try and match any of the suspects' prints held on file.
52:56The three suspects have been given to me as potentials,
53:00and I'm now looking at the fingerprint form
53:02to try and find the corresponding finger for it.
53:07One, two, three ridges, and there's a ridge ending there.
53:12Bifurcation there, which appears on both the mark and the fingerprint form.
53:17So I'm now satisfied that that mark on the Red Bull can
53:22is that of the left thumb of Craig Howell.
53:27David also analyses the fingerprint found on the clothing tag.
53:32There appears to be what could be a fine scar across the fingerprint.
53:39The line coming down here.
53:43So it appears like a white line.
53:45In a similar area here, you can see that there's a line coming through there,
53:52which will be that same scar.
53:56At this point, I'm more than confident that that is an identification
54:01to the right forefinger of Simon Padgett.
54:11I'm now looking at some ridge detail on a cherry cola can.
54:16A small area of ridge detail, just the one on this can.
54:19And if I work through the intervening ridges out to the left,
54:22one, two, three, four, five, there is a ridge ending coming up
54:27and stopping there.
54:28So I'll start looking at the fingerprint form of Noel Riley,
54:32the third suspect.
54:36I'm more than satisfied that that is an identification
54:39and that is a match from the cherry cola can to the right thumbprint of Noel Riley.
54:49Three of the gang members can now be forensically placed in Cumbria,
54:54which links them to the getaway car transported by Daniel Hickenbottom
54:58and seen at all three offences.
55:06We're trying to understand the hierarchy of the group.
55:10Noel Riley, I think there's every chance that it was he who took possession
55:14of the jaws of life and used those to cut into the cash machines.
55:20Daniel Hickenbottom has acted as the driver
55:23to transport the vehicle to and from the Cumbria area.
55:27Their cell site matches that movement as well,
55:30but interestingly, their mobile phones all turn off
55:33at the exact times that the offences are being committed,
55:36which is all good supporting evidence for us.
55:38Thanks very much for the cooperation with your team, Sean,
55:41and we're working with us.
55:42I'm over the moon with the results.
55:44Yeah, thanks, Steve. Thanks, Jason.
55:48Absolutely bang to rights.
55:50It is somehow ironic that eventually it was a bag of rubbish
55:54which identified the base from which they operated their criminal enterprise
55:58over the course of those three days.
56:02As investigators, we only need to be lucky once.
56:13The CPS has now reached a charging decision on the Cumbria raids.
56:18Along with six other burglaries,
56:20the jaws of life gang are suspected of committing together.
56:24Yeah.
56:24Hello, Craig.
56:26So, the matter's been sent to the Crown Prosecution Service
56:29and they've come back with four charges for you, mate.
56:31Yeah.
56:31All right.
56:32So, you're going to be charged with those following offences now.
56:38OCGs are really forensically aware.
56:40They know how to get rid of traces of evidence.
56:43But no matter what they try and do to evade capture,
56:48there will always be something there for us.
56:51We're going to be charged with the following offences.
56:53First offence, conspiracy to receive stolen goods.
56:56Second charge, inspired together with other persons
56:58to dishonestly receive stolen goods, namely vehicles, jaws of life.
57:05Crime does not pay.
57:06This group clearly thought that they were above the law
57:08and they would not get caught.
57:10You can sign right there for me, please.
57:13They must have been cheated but left the rubbish.
57:36They must have been cheated but left the rubbish.
57:44Whilst there can be no doubt that the group
57:46made a significant amount of cash,
57:49they will spend a considerable amount of time in prison now.
57:53Time that they won't be able to get back,
57:55which they will spend away from their families
57:57and poses the question, ultimately, was it worth it?
58:12Every contact leaves a trace that forensic experts can follow.
58:17Explore it for yourself with the Open University's new interactive case simulator.
58:22Scan the QR code on screen or visit connect.open.ac.uk
58:28forward slash real CSI.
58:58MAISITE
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