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Crimewatch Roadshow - Season 23 - Episode 14: The Takedown
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00:01Today, one of the UK's biggest ever takedowns of a sprawling web of drug traffickers.
00:08On boarding the plane, I approached Sadlow and informed her that she was under arrest
00:12for conspiracy to supply Class A drugs. At that point, her world appeared to fall apart.
00:18She's not happy and she won't be flying first class anymore, that's for sure.
00:23The Met Police are looking for the man in this CCTV footage.
00:27He fired a gun three times with fatal consequences.
00:32This is Crimewatch Live.
00:34He's been jamming the switchboard, both here and at the Institute.
00:39Just to remind you, this was the abduction and reno drop campaign and the handgun debate.
00:46Hello and welcome to Crimewatch 12. People rang and giving the same most fantastic results.
01:00Good morning. Thank you for joining us on what is the penultimate programme of the series.
01:05Yeah, we've got loads coming up for you over the next 45 minutes.
01:08We're joined by the team behind the tech being used on a high street near you.
01:13That's stopping shoplifters in their tracks.
01:15We're with Devon and Cornwall Police to hear about QR codes that you may see on lampposts that are actually
01:21menus for drugs that can be posted to people's doors.
01:26We had a huge response yesterday to our item about reporting historical sexual abuse.
01:32So thank you so much for all of your calls on that.
01:35If you do want to get in touch today, our team are here ready in our Cardiff studios.
01:40You can scan the QR code below using your phone's camera and following the link or you can call us.
01:46The number is 08000 468 999.
01:49You can text us on 63399.
01:52Start with the word crime, leave a space, then write your message or just send us an email.
01:58It's cwl at bbc.co.uk.
02:02First today, we are re-examining a murder from 2004.
02:07Camille Gordon was brutally stabbed in London's Soho and her killer has never been found.
02:13Can you help?
02:17Camille was a beautiful little soul, wonderful personality.
02:21She was a sweet girl.
02:24Camille wanted to work with young people.
02:26That was her passion, to educate young children, to do homework with them.
02:33When they have their work from school, they would come over to the house and she helped them to do
02:38it.
02:39She was a people person.
02:48In 2001, at the age of 20, Camille left her family in Jamaica to follow her dream to be a
02:55teacher, moving to Birmingham to live with an aunt.
02:58She said, Mom, I think it's a better education there.
03:03So I'm going to take that chance.
03:05So she was excited to go because she knows she would get a better degree where she could work to
03:13help other children.
03:16I was happy for her because her dreams would come through.
03:20So I was excited for her to go.
03:23It was a happy time for her.
03:26I had a cell phone, so we spoke most of the time.
03:32A year later, Camille moved to London, but at that point, she wasn't able to pursue her teaching ambitions.
03:40She had to put that dreams on hold, mainly for financial reasons, where she ended up working multiple jobs.
03:46And she was sending money back home to her family in Jamaica.
03:50And then in December 2003, an opportunity came up for her to work one of her several jobs at the
03:57Blue Bunny Club, which is Archer Street in Soho.
04:00They didn't serve alcohol.
04:02People would go to be entertained and engaged in conversations.
04:05However, the fees were quite high, and often, although a client would be presented with those fees when they arrived,
04:15they probably didn't take too much notice.
04:18On the 1st of March 2004, Camille was one of two hostesses there.
04:25Around half past six, Camille was working at the entrance to the club, where she would be engaging with various
04:31members of the public walking past, inviting them into the club.
04:34And she's approached by a male, she engaged in conversation, and he decides to enter the club for a £5
04:40entry fee.
04:43He's a dark-skinned male, approximately 5ft5 to 5ft8, slim build, wearing dark clothing and a hat.
04:51After chatting for about 10 minutes, the man decided to leave, and he was presented with a bill for £375.
05:03Which he was quite disgruntled about.
05:06But it was agreed that he would pay £80, and then would leave the club, which he did.
05:13And by all account, it was quite calm.
05:18Witnesses saw the man leaving, and going a short way down a street near the Apollo Theatre, where he made
05:24a phone call.
05:26A short while later, he returned to the club, and was met by a different lady who was working at
05:31the entrance, and he walked off.
05:38At around 10 past 7, Camille was back outside working the door, and the same man returned.
05:51She was pushed inside the doorway.
05:54It's there she was stabbed in the chest.
05:59While staff rushed to Camille's aid, her attacker fled.
06:09Members of the public heard her scream, and as did people within the club that evening.
06:14Straight away, first aid was given to her, and an ambulance arrived very, very shortly afterwards.
06:26I was coming from work, and I was on the bus.
06:29I got a call.
06:30Oh, Camille met in an accident, and she's on her way to the hospital.
06:35I went straight to my mum's house, and I was telling her, we were crying and praying.
06:44Unfortunately, she could not be saved, and tragically died of her injuries later at the University College Hospital.
06:53Camille was just 23 years old.
07:00I was on the ground. I was screaming. Camille was such a perfect person.
07:07I don't know who could ever do that to her.
07:14A murder investigation was launched.
07:18We strongly believe that the male that entered the club and engaged with Camille in conversation
07:22is that same male that returned and fatally stabbed her.
07:27A substantial amount of officers were deployed onto the investigation,
07:31and all the CCTV cameras from the surrounding area were seized and viewed,
07:37which enabled us to identify the man that we believe is responsible,
07:43running from the Blue Bunny Club to Archer Street, into Great Windmill Street,
07:48and then into the Piccadilly train station.
07:53Given the time and location of the murder,
07:56investigators are convinced there could be witnesses who could help.
08:00This is at the heart of London.
08:02There's a theatre next door.
08:03At seven o'clock in the evening, there would have been a lot of people about.
08:07So although it's literally just off Shaftesbury Avenue,
08:10it's a very, very busy area, very unusual that this would take place.
08:19Although time has passed, there's still determination to get justice for Camille's family.
08:26It's just over 20 years since Camille died, and she is not forgotten by us as the police,
08:32who continue to investigate and will never close this case until we find the person responsible,
08:37and certainly not forgotten by her family, her loved ones, her friends,
08:41who still, you know, obviously remember this and live with this every single day.
08:46It's brilliant that we are able to review this case now and hopefully, hopefully bring some closure to the family.
08:56I am pleading, I'm begging, gentle people, if you know something, please say something to the police.
09:06We need to put our closure to this.
09:08Every day is the same thing, it's like it just happened.
09:13Just imagine if you were in this situation.
09:21It really is such a sad case.
09:23I'm now with DI Amanda Gregg from the Met Police.
09:25You saw from the film there.
09:26Amanda, can you just go over the key details of this incredibly sad case?
09:30Yes, Camille was murdered on Monday the 1st of March 2004.
09:36Around 6.40, she was working at the Blue Bunny Club
09:40and she was working at the door when a client came
09:44and she engaged in conversation, he paid the £5 to go into the club.
09:49They've engaged in conversation, a short while later he was presented with the bill, £375,
09:53obviously very disgruntled, but it was agreed he'd pay £80 and he left.
09:58He came back to the club a short while later and another lady was working there
10:02and then he backed off, but he came back again when Camille was working there,
10:06when he stabbed her and that was witnessed by passers-by.
10:10He then ran off down Archer Street into Great Windmill Street
10:14and then Piccadilly Circus tube station.
10:17Camille managed to get back into the club where her colleagues rendered first aid,
10:21but sadly she died from her injuries.
10:23Just so sad, isn't it, what happened there?
10:25Now you mentioned the killer actually ran down and went into the tube station.
10:30There is some CCTV that you're going to show us now.
10:32You believe this is him? This is the same person?
10:34Yes, yes. We were able to track him on CCTV, Archer Street, Great Windmill Street,
10:38and then into the tube station where he made his way, very skillfully,
10:41through the tube station to the southbound Baker Loon Line.
10:45You can see he goes right to the very end, maybe to avoid the cameras
10:48and at that point he's removed his hat.
10:50Removed his hat and we've just taken some images that's taken from the CCTV we could see here.
10:56How would this man be described?
10:57He's a black male. He's approximately five foot five to five foot eight.
11:02He would have been mid-twenties at the time, so mid-forties now.
11:05He was wearing a hat which he removed, dark trousers and light-coloured trousers.
11:09Very distinctive Cleveland Indians baseball jacket,
11:13which we managed at the time to get a copy of it.
11:16We actually see that here, yes. So as you say, this is quite distinctive.
11:19Very distinctive.
11:19This is exactly what it would have looked like on the day, this jacket here.
11:23Now, Amanda, there's actually a second male that you'd really like to speak to,
11:29because he may have some information on this case.
11:32Tell us what happened.
11:32Yeah, two days after Camille was murdered,
11:34a man went into Kennington Police Station, which is in south London,
11:38and he said he had information about Camille's murder,
11:41and he asked to speak to a CID office.
11:44By the time a CID officer was there to speak to him, he'd actually left.
11:48He was a white male, approximately 35 years old at the time,
11:51five-foot-eight, light brown hair, very, apparently, distinctive high cheekbones.
11:56So he'd be about 55 now, and we're really keen to speak to him.
11:59We weren't able to identify him at the time,
12:02but obviously we believe that he has key information.
12:04Yeah, absolutely. And you mentioned it.
12:07It's 6.40, not even 7 o'clock p.m., busy area of central London.
12:12It is.
12:12There's going to be people around there.
12:14There could well be other witnesses.
12:15Definitely. It's the West End of London.
12:18It's theatre land.
12:207.10 in the evening.
12:21It would have been extremely busy with members of the public and tourists.
12:24We heard in the film there the voice from Doet, who's Camille's mother,
12:28and she's absolutely distraught as are her whole family as a result of this.
12:32It would give them some form of closure to know what happened,
12:36because you've been working so much with them.
12:38It really would mean the world, wouldn't it?
12:40Doet and all of Camille's family are just so traumatised by what happens.
12:45They think about her constantly every single day.
12:48They would love closure.
12:49They'd love to know who was responsible and what happened to Camille.
12:52They are so grateful that this appeal is being made and really ask the public,
12:56if they have any information, please do come forward.
12:59And if anyone needs further incentive,
13:00there is a financial reward that's been put up by the Met?
13:03That's right. It's a serious crime reward and it's up to £20,000
13:06for the arrest and conviction of the person responsible.
13:09Amanda, thank you.
13:10So have a look.
13:11Does this man look familiar to you?
13:14Or maybe it's the jacket.
13:15Have a good look at that.
13:15It is pretty distinctive.
13:17Or maybe you're the man who went into Kennington Police Station back in 2004.
13:21Now is the time to do the right thing and come forward.
13:25Now, unfortunately, Camille Gordon is not the only murder
13:28we are appealing for information about today.
13:31With me is D.I. John McLeod and D.S. Andrew Shepard from the Met Police.
13:36And you're here to talk about the shooting of Denisha Tyson,
13:40who we can see here.
13:42So, John, first of all, tell us a bit about what happened, what we know.
13:45So it's in relation to a shooting, which occurred about 2am on the 90th of July 2022.
13:51It was on the Mozart State, which is near Queen's Park in West London.
13:55So it was a warm summer's evening.
13:57There was a gathering of people inside and outside the address at the time.
14:00At this point, a black vehicle has been seen to attend Broomwick Street,
14:06whereby a male has been seen to get out of the car.
14:09Yeah.
14:09At this point, Denisha was standing at the footwell of a stairwell,
14:14which is the entrance to the block of flats,
14:17whereby this undefined male was approached
14:19and he actually discharged a firearm three times into the stairwell.
14:22Okay.
14:23Unfortunately, Mr. Tyson was shot twice to the chest.
14:26He was later, he was shortly, he was pushed to the hospital, taken to the hospital,
14:31and he was sadly, his injuries proved fatal.
14:34Yeah.
14:34I mean, it's a really shocking case, isn't it?
14:36So, we've got some CCTV footage.
14:39Andrew, do you want to just talk us through what we can see in this?
14:42Absolutely.
14:43Having been dropped off from Bruckner Street, he approaches Danby House.
14:46He releases a firearm from his waistband.
14:49You've got some males on the upper landing there going down the stairwell,
14:52and actually, Denisha Tyson's currently stood just behind that security gate there.
14:59Yeah.
15:00So, that's the suspect we saw there.
15:01That's it.
15:02He's running away now.
15:03He runs out, gets into this black vehicle in the passenger,
15:05rear passenger side, which leads us to believe
15:08there's potentially three other persons in that vehicle.
15:11Yeah.
15:11So, should we talk about the suspect?
15:13What is it we know about him?
15:15He's wearing a balaclava, isn't he, for the start?
15:17He is.
15:18He's wearing a balaclava.
15:19What I should say is this is a night vision camera,
15:21which will distort the appearance or the colour of the clothing.
15:24So, this is actually quite a dark top, short-sleeved top that he's wearing,
15:27with light-coloured trousers and white or light-coloured trainers.
15:31And he's a stocky build.
15:32Yeah.
15:33And by the fact that he's holding the gun in his right hand,
15:35we'd say he's right-handed.
15:37Yes.
15:37And also, he's got an interesting walk.
15:39Shall we have a look at that footage again?
15:40Because this might jog your memory.
15:42You might know him and recognise him from this wall.
15:44Yeah, he's got quite a distinctive gait.
15:46So, we're hoping that someone might see his style of walking and recognise him that way,
15:50particularly if he's well-known to them.
15:52So, that's the suspect.
15:53Let's talk a bit about the car.
15:54So, we've got another shot to show you on that.
15:57Tell me about that.
15:57Yes.
15:58Unfortunately, we don't actually able to get the licence plate number from the vehicle on the CCTV.
16:03However, by the style and the design of the car, we do think it's a black or dark BMW 2
16:10series.
16:10Yeah.
16:11So, someone might have seen it in the area at the time.
16:13Absolutely.
16:13John, let me ask you about Dinesha.
16:15So, he was 26.
16:16You don't know whether he was an intended victim in this, but what do we know about Dinesha?
16:22So, Dinesha went by the nickname of Wu or Woodakid by his friends.
16:27We're aware of some gang-related activity in that area, but however, we're unsure if it's linked to this incident
16:31at all.
16:32Either way, he's left behind a family that are utterly devastated about his loss.
16:36They want to understand what happened.
16:38In particular, police have been speaking to Dinesha's aunt, who states the family are incredibly saddened about that nobody's been
16:45brought to justice yet.
16:46Yeah, of course they are.
16:46Of course they are.
16:47They want answers, don't they?
16:48There's a substantial reward for information on this as well.
16:51We have a serious crime reward of up to £20,000 for information that's going to lead to successful prosecution
16:56of his murder.
16:57Yeah.
16:57So, you're looking for information about this.
17:00Thank you so much for coming in to talk to us about that.
17:02Please do get in touch if you do have any information.
17:05The contact details are at the bottom of the screen.
17:09Now, it's one of the single biggest drug trafficking busts that UK forces have undertaken.
17:14It involves 800 kilos of drugs, three organised crime gangs and one unexpected top dog.
17:26Operation Matrix started out as looking at someone very localised.
17:31But how it developed and the things that came from that all of a sudden spanned out regionally, nationally and
17:36internationally.
17:44In mid-2022, the Northwest Regional Organised Crime Unit were contacted by Cumbria Police, who had identified a man named
17:53Rhys Barnes, who they believed was dealing kilo amounts of cocaine in the Windermere area.
18:02Rhys Barnes was known to the police, he had spent time in prison previously for a violent offence.
18:09In December, police witnessed Barnes meeting a man who was already known to them, Stephen Stockall.
18:18Stephen Stockall had recently come out of prison from a conviction for the importation of Class A drugs.
18:24In a secluded country lane where we saw them come together and a drawstring bag was handed over.
18:31Stockall then left the area very quickly.
18:33We then followed Barnes back to a small lock-up, which was situated near to his home address.
18:39We saw him coming in and out of that lock-up with bags on several occasions.
18:46At that stage, we were really certain that this was drugs or cash being exchanged.
18:56On the 3rd of February, Barnes met with Stockall again.
19:01We decided at that point that the time was right for us to arrest Stockall.
19:06When we arrested Stockall on the M56, in the footwell of his vehicle was 43 grams of cocaine.
19:17On the search of his property, more cocaine was found and tick lists, lists that dealers use to keep track
19:23of what they've supplied and what people might have.
19:26Which was consistent with Stockall being a drug dealer.
19:29And also not just supplying Barnes, supplying other people as part of Stockall's own drug business.
19:39With Stockall arrested, police continued to monitor Barnes, who reached out to other associates to supply him with cocaine.
19:48A white van came into the area, not far from Barnes' home address.
19:53We see an exchange.
19:56So the decision was made to arrest Barnes.
20:00He tried to throw a drawstring bag.
20:03Within that bag was a kilo block of cocaine.
20:10We then conducted a search of Barnes' home address.
20:13There was a large amount of cash recovered, as well as an expensive Rolex watch, valued at about £10,000.
20:19We also searched the lock-up garage that we'd seen him go into.
20:23Inside that lock-up, we found a shoebox.
20:26And inside was a quarter of a kilo of cocaine.
20:34The white van involved in the exchange was intercepted on its way back to Manchester.
20:47In the footwell of the vehicle was a multicoloured plastic bag that contained £30,000.
20:54What's your name, fella?
20:56Cain.
20:57Cain what?
20:58Turner.
20:59£30,000 at that time, when this investigation was running, was the value of a kilo of cocaine.
21:06Reece Barnes had paid Cain Turner £30,000 for a kilo of cocaine.
21:11The same kilo block that police found in the drawstring bag when they arrested Barnes.
21:21Police seized Turner's phone.
21:25It opened up a real Pandora's box.
21:29It immediately identified two other people that we were completely unaware of.
21:33Andrew Stevens and Simon Buller.
21:39Andrew Stevens and Simon Buller led an organised crime group, and Turner worked for them as a courier responsible for
21:46collecting huge quantities of cocaine and distributing it around the country.
21:53So, at this point, we decided to set up a surveillance operation on Stevens and Buller.
21:59Police were now keeping a close eye on one big North West-based OCG.
22:06And new names kept coming in.
22:09This time, Michael Evans.
22:16We saw his vehicle been travelling on ANPR right across the country, down as far as into South Wales, doing
22:22quick turnaround trips, very similar to what Stockholm was doing to Windermere.
22:26Straight away, we've gone from a small force area in Cumbria to all of a sudden reaching out across the
22:33nation and into Wales as well.
22:37On the 29th of March, 2023, police arrested Michael Evans, having been alerted through ANPR that he was making a
22:46trip to Cardiff.
22:49On his arrest, in a rucksack on the rear seat of the vehicle, was seven kilos of cocaine.
22:59Evans was charged and remanded to prison.
23:03At this time, we also had Barnes, Stockholm and Turner.
23:08Access to Evans' phone showed police that the drug network was even bigger than they anticipated.
23:15We identified a male called Thomas Whittaker.
23:18Evans and Whittaker had supplied over 150 kilos across the country.
23:23That would be a street value of over £15 million.
23:29We could clearly see that when Whittaker and Evans were making short turnaround trips to Windermere,
23:35that Barnes was in contact with two males from Manchester, Preston and Owen.
23:39We noticed an increase in the frequency of calls to Preston and Owen.
23:44That gave us confidence that this was part of Reece Barnes' drug supply and part of his network.
23:53At that point in the investigation, we had three organised crime groups working together collaboratively.
24:00It created a real buzz amongst the investigation team that we're now getting to the higher echelons of this drug
24:06supply network.
24:11It then became apparent there was another individual that was clearly a key player in this investigation that we had
24:17previously not been aware of.
24:19It was important to us to try and identify exactly who that was.
24:28Well, I can tell you the mastermind behind that enormous case won't be who you think.
24:32No, but I'll give you a little clue. Let's say her nickname is Barbie.
24:38Right, we're now joined by PC Nick Burnett from Devon and Cornwall Serious Crime Unit to learn all about how
24:45criminals are using QR codes to deliver drugs right to your door.
24:49Now, obviously, we use a QR code on this show for contact details.
24:54It's not a drugs menu, thank God.
24:56But tell us a bit about how this is being used illegally then.
24:59So they're being stuck to street furniture, lampposts, bus stops in urban areas where there's a lot of footfall.
25:05So people will be interested and scan the QR code and literally they scan it and it goes straight through
25:10to a social media platform such as Telegram, Signal, WhatsApp.
25:15And then it's just a list of various different commodities, prices, different weights and then instructions on how to pay.
25:22And it gets posted straight to your door.
25:24Wow. So we can see an example here. It's quite brightly coloured and the QR codes at the bottom.
25:29We should say that that does not work.
25:31Yeah, it's a fake one there.
25:33But that's what it could typically look like in a busy area where lots of people will go through.
25:39So if you were to scan a real one and it was what would it take you through?
25:44What would it look like on your phone?
25:45It would just take you through to a social media platform.
25:47So a messaging platform and it would take you through to a menu.
25:51Quite often, as this one shows, pictures of the commodities.
25:55Yeah. So it's got all sorts on there, hasn't it?
25:57Yeah, different weights.
25:58Quantities.
25:59And then obviously the money it will cost you to buy.
26:02And then at the bottom it normally will have payment details.
26:05So whether that be bank transfer or via a banking app.
26:09And then methods of delivery.
26:11Wow.
26:12It's a huge problem though, isn't it?
26:13It's part of the problem because it is so accessible.
26:15So easy.
26:16Yeah.
26:17And they're normally brightly coloured and very kind of the pictures are there.
26:22So it attracts the younger audience of the drug market.
26:26And then again, because they're normally just purchasing personal amounts for themselves,
26:31the packages are small, the envelopes are small.
26:33So it's quite unspicuous coming through the post.
26:36So they're just coming through the normal post and you're paying for it through a normal banking app.
26:40Absolutely.
26:40Yeah.
26:41Wow. So it's so accessible as you say.
26:43So easy.
26:43And how easy is it for you then as the police to try and crack down on this?
26:47Again, if we don't know, then there's not much we can do.
26:50Again, the police kind of, we identify the QR codes or informed about them that there are things we can
26:56do.
26:57Again, academic colleagues and the MPCC have held meetings with the policing minister around addressing social media
27:05and how we police it and stricter control. So that is discussions that are still ongoing.
27:11What about the language that's used by a lot of the dealers there?
27:16Because they use a lot of emojis to explain what each product is.
27:20And you're just going to talk us through some of those here, aren't you?
27:22Yeah. So we've got some pictures here.
27:24So the horse emoji is commonly used for ketamine.
27:27And there's a very sinister reason why it is.
27:29Yeah. In the legitimate market with vets, it is used as a horse tranquilizer.
27:33And then cocaine, again, some of the common slang names for cocaine are snow.
27:41So you get your snowman and your snowflake emoji are common.
27:47Heroin is a dragon because you trace the dragon is the slang name for when you smoke it.
27:51And then obviously magic mushrooms, et cetera, as the images show.
27:56So yeah, they're very common.
27:57But yeah, if you saw some of those emojis, you might not really realise what they are.
28:00And now it could have a very, very sinister thing.
28:02And this is really exacerbating the problem of drug use in the UK, isn't it?
28:06Absolutely. And it's about education and highlighting to parents, teachers, to peers of what things are and what things mean.
28:15So again, if your child is receiving multiple small packages through the post, maybe don't believe what they are.
28:23Maybe ask those questions, especially if you've seen a behavioural change in them.
28:26And it could be that, you know, you look at it and address the problem.
28:30Yeah. And if you see those QR codes, report it as well.
28:33Absolutely. Yeah. You can take a picture of them, either report it via Crimestoppers or to your local police force.
28:38Yeah. Good advice.
28:39Great advice, Nick. Thank you.
28:41Now, though, we're going to the second part of how detectives untangled an intricate crime web,
28:47one that will lead them to an unexpected high flyer.
28:54Operation Matrix started with intel on one man, Rhys Barnes, who was selling cocaine in Windermere.
29:02Surveillance and his later arrest exposed a vast UK-wide network of drug dealers, couriers and suppliers, moving and selling
29:11huge quantities of Class A drugs.
29:20Officers had four men in custody for their part while they continued monitoring the movements of OCG leads Andrew Stevens
29:28and Simon Buller, leading them to yet another courier, Anthony Warhurst.
29:34On looking at the ANPR for Anthony Warhurst vehicle, we could see that that had done a couple of trips
29:40south to Harwich.
29:42Our theory at that time was that large quantities of cocaine were being imported on a ferry to Harwich and
29:49then transported back north.
29:52OK, standby. We're just moving up behind him now. Challenges in, mate. Challenges in.
29:55Challenges in.
29:57Standby.
29:58On one of his trips to Harwich, police decided to intercept him.
30:06Right, foot's off the brake. Standby.
30:09Keys are out. Keys are out.
30:17Right, Anthony, it's half past 11. You're under arrest on suspicion of possession of a Class A drug with intent
30:22to supply.
30:24He was in possession of 50 kilos of cocaine.
30:26Right, here we go, here we go.
30:30Some more in here, yeah, yeah. There's that on there.
30:34This had a value of around £5 million.
30:38Police believed that Warhurst was transporting the drugs on behalf of Andrew Stevens and Simon Buller.
30:46We moved in and arrested both Buller and Stevens in the Manchester area to maximise the evidence and link them
30:52to those drugs.
30:54Their phones were seized and the evidence recovered revealed the true extent of this international operation.
31:03Stevens was taking instructions and working with people who were based abroad,
31:08who were involved in the importation of huge quantities of drugs.
31:12Stevens and Buller were working together to control that network of couriers
31:16and to control where drugs would be stored for onward supply.
31:20Buller and Stevens had supplied over 230 kilos of Class A drugs.
31:25That has a street value of over £20 million.
31:31With the leaders of one OCG in custody, officers turned their attention to the next OCG, run by Daryl Preston
31:39and Scott Owen.
31:43Owen was arrested as he came off a plane.
31:45What?
31:46Spiracy to supply Class A.
31:49Scott Owen was out of the country at the time and was flying in from Portugal.
31:53He was escorted off the plane and arrested.
31:56He was really shocked and surprised.
31:58You're under arrest on deck.
31:59Spiracy to supply Class A drugs.
32:01You do not have to say anything, but it may harm your defence.
32:03You do not mention one question.
32:05You do not mention one question.
32:16With ten men in custody from four OCGs, officers trawled through their digital devices.
32:32There was people in a message thread that were clearly sat at the top table.
32:36One of those names was Magda.
32:38And it's really important that we try to identify exactly who Magda was.
32:42We utilised ANPR, telecoms evidence.
32:45And we established a vehicle that had been travelling at key times to key areas.
32:50That identified a vehicle belonging to Magdalena Sadler.
32:56Sadler was making regular trips between the UK and the United Arab Emirates.
33:03She had a background in business studies.
33:06I had a quite big social media footprint as well.
33:08Not someone that we'd normally associate with this type of criminality.
33:12It was clear that Magdalena was trusted to collect huge, huge quantities of Class A drugs
33:19from poor areas down south in England and then transport them north.
33:23We'd had the link all the way up from Barnes locally, through that regional national network
33:29to the international importations.
33:31And it brought the whole operation full circle and gave us the full picture of exactly what was going on
33:36and how these networks were operating.
33:42Sadler had transported at least 200 kilograms of cocaine.
33:47Police set about arresting her, but she had fled the country.
33:52Sadler returned to the UK on the 13th of February.
33:55She was travelling first class from Abu Dhabi to Heathrow.
34:02And for me, people who could afford to travel that level of luxury are certainly operating at the very, very
34:08top levels.
34:10It's just a guessing game really as to why she came back, but ultimately she did.
34:14And we were waiting for her.
34:17On boarding the plane, I approached Sadler and informed her that she was under arrest for conspiracy to supply Class
34:23A drugs.
34:24At that point, her world appeared to fall apart.
34:30What?
34:38Sadler had in her possession three mobile phones, two laptops, a jewellery box.
34:44In that jewellery box were two high value watches, a Tac Philippe worth £130,000, a Rolex worth £30,000,
34:53Cartier bracelets, Cartier rings.
34:55Officers seized her phones and laptops.
35:00That basically opened up a whole new world.
35:04She was managing spreadsheets with millions and millions of pounds worth of cash.
35:09She was involved in and set up multiple chat groups with the international cartels, updating them with the stock levels.
35:17The value of the stock, who owed what money, chasing people who were poor payers, say suggesting the enforced threats
35:25of violence to reinforce the debts.
35:27She was somebody who was working at the very, very top with the international drug cartels.
35:35Magdalena Sadler had been involved logistically overseeing the movement and transportation of over 800 kilos of cocaine, as well as
35:45cannabis and ketamine.
35:50She pleaded guilty to drug trafficking offences and was sentenced to 14 years in prison.
35:59To be involved as a female on this scale, I've not seen it before in my career.
36:06As a result of Operation Matrix, 13 people were sentenced to almost 150 years in prison.
36:16Andrew Stephenson was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
36:20Buller, Owen, Preston were also sentenced to lengthy terms in prison.
36:26And Rhys Barnes, he was also sentenced to 12 years in prison.
36:32It stands as one of the UK's largest ever drug trafficking investigations.
36:41Operation Matrix evidenced the supply of over £50 million worth of Class A drugs.
36:47This operation has taken out people from the street level all the way up to that national and international drug
36:52supply,
36:53which is really important for the communities and for this country.
37:01Goodness, what a result.
37:02I did not expect that, but yes, some great results, as you say.
37:05Yes.
37:06Now we're going to talk about a crime costing retailers £2.6 million every year.
37:13It's theft, but also violence to shop workers.
37:16There are around 1,600 incidents of this abuse every single day.
37:21Now, one of the initiatives being used by the shops to tackle it is through technology called FaceWatch.
37:28Yeah, well, here to tell us more is Michelle Henshaw and Ashish Verma,
37:32who have brought one of their specialist cameras to show us exactly how this all works.
37:36So, Michelle, good morning. Let's start with you.
37:38So, talk us through what it does.
37:40Okay. So, FaceWatch is a crime deterrent platform for retailers.
37:45So, when someone walks into a retail store, the faces are looked at by our database
37:51and then it will send the retailer an alert within six to eight seconds if that person is a subject
37:56of interest.
37:57So, what we've done today is brought a demo kit to show you.
38:01So, the camera itself is a FaceWatch camera and that's installed in every single store.
38:07It's got facial recognition, CCTV, and it's got a high definition camera in there.
38:12So, when a person walks in the store, it'll take a photograph.
38:16Oh, wow.
38:17So, every single person has a photograph taken.
38:19So, can you demonstrate it for us?
38:21Yeah, absolutely.
38:21How does it work?
38:22So, on the dashboard here, we've got some photographs.
38:26So, if you walked in earlier, you've obviously got your picture on the dashboard.
38:32So, if I was just browsing around or walking in, it would have captured me.
38:35Yeah, absolutely.
38:35So, you've already got my picture there.
38:37There you go.
38:37There I am.
38:39Most flattering pictures I've ever had, but yes, there I am.
38:41And then what that allows the retailer to do is...
38:45Let's say, Rav, you came in and committed a crime.
38:48It would have... Yes.
38:49And we know Rav likes to steal protein drinks.
38:52So, when Rav's come in and you've stolen your protein drinks,
38:55what the retailer did is they've gone back...
38:58It's all coming out now.
38:59We've gone after the protein shakes. Right, carry on.
39:01They've gone back to the detections of yourself
39:04and they've added you as an incident.
39:06Right.
39:06So, they added you as an incident to FaceWatch
39:09and that incident was added with a witness statement as well.
39:12So, the retailer has to give a witness statement.
39:14So, if I had come in then and committed a crime
39:17and now it's been logged by you guys,
39:19if I was then to return, what would happen then?
39:22Try.
39:23So, if you walk back in front of the camera now,
39:25so you're logged in our database,
39:27an alert will be sent to the retailer within six to eight seconds.
39:30Oh, wow.
39:31And then when they get that alert,
39:33what does the staff member, the retailer, do?
39:36So, the retailer...
39:37So, here's the alert.
39:38There's the alert.
39:38And that was in real time?
39:40It is in real time.
39:41That was literally seconds, wasn't it?
39:42Yeah.
39:43We sent half a million alerts in 2025.
39:46Wow, half a million alerts.
39:48So, this is people who are already on the system,
39:50who've been seen on the cameras and then they come in.
39:52So, then that goes to the retailer, to a staff member
39:55and then what happens?
39:56Yeah, absolutely.
39:57So, the staff member on that alert,
39:59it tells you, gives you tags.
40:01So, violence or theft or abuse.
40:03So, depending on what that tag is,
40:06a violent person you might not want to approach.
40:09But face watch, we always recommend that.
40:12It's called kill them with kindness.
40:13So, when someone walks in, you approach them,
40:15give them a shopping basket and say, welcome to the store.
40:18And that disrupts the pattern of behaviour of that thief
40:22because they've been spotted.
40:24Oh, psychology behind it too, isn't it?
40:25Yeah, but it's been successful already, isn't it?
40:28You've got some pretty good results.
40:29Yeah, absolutely.
40:30So, we're currently in trial with Sainsbury's
40:33and they've reported a 92% reduction in repeat offenders.
40:37And they've also reported a 46% reduction in just crime in general.
40:43And then you've got home bargains.
40:45So, home bargains have got it in most of their stores,
40:48but not in all.
40:49And they've reported a 50% decrease in abuse
40:52towards shop workers with stores with face watch.
40:55Yeah.
40:56And then we work with independents as well.
40:58So, Morrison's Daily, we have a client that's reported 90% reduction in crime
41:03to his shop workers.
41:04So, it's making a difference.
41:05Really good, yeah.
41:05There's obviously people worried though about the kind of data protection
41:10and also whether they might be pulled over and it's not them
41:14and they just look like someone who has done some crime in a shop before.
41:18So, what are the things in place to stop that?
41:20Yeah.
41:20So, with biometric data, your face is measured, you know, quite specifically.
41:25So, between the ears, the eyes, etc.
41:28So, your template is unique to you.
41:30So, you only need to be worried if you're already on the database.
41:34So, if you've stolen something and you come back in, you're going to get alerted.
41:38Right.
41:38But if you're a genuine shopper who doesn't steal anything, then you're not going to be on our database.
41:43So, can I just clarify then?
41:45So, say in the scenario that we used, if I was going to be the thief and I'd gone into
41:49a shop
41:49and Steph had walked in at the same time to actually go shopping,
41:54her image would be initially captured, as would mine.
41:57Yes.
41:58But then, because I committed a crime, you'd then do more with my image.
42:01What would happen to Steph's image?
42:03Immediately deleted.
42:03So, it'll take Steph's image, send it to our database, look at you to see if you match our database,
42:10and you won't, and it's immediately gone.
42:13So, it's not going to be stored forever and ever.
42:15But then, if someone looks like Rav, they're not going to be stopped.
42:19No.
42:21Because...
42:21It's a one-off.
42:22You are a one-off.
42:23You are a one-off.
42:25But it is something that you're going to trial this in other places as well.
42:29We're talking about retail, but maybe it could be in football stadiums and other places.
42:33We've got about 125 retailers at the moment on the books,
42:37and we are in talks with a football stadium.
42:40So, from a user case from a football stadium, it's around racial abuse,
42:45you know, antisocial behaviour, etc.
42:47Very important.
42:47Well, I wish you all the best of it.
42:49Thank you for showing us.
42:49And actually, just make sure you delete my details.
42:51I've got to do a big shop at the supermarket the weekend,
42:53and I want to be let in.
42:54And make sure you get me off there.
42:55Make sure you appear for Italy.
42:58Thank you both.
43:00That's all we've got time for today with the end of the programme,
43:02but we're going to be back at the same time tomorrow for our final show.
43:05I know, I can't believe that.
43:06Three weeks have gone already.
43:07Well, do join us tomorrow for more appeals, solved cases, a therapy dog,
43:11and to see if you know the identity of this man found deceased in 2015.
43:18We don't have the benefits of a traditional crime scene.
43:21We're now ten and a half years on,
43:23and we're still no closer to identifying who that victim is.
43:27It's a really curious case, someone.
43:29Yeah, that's what we can help.
43:30We'll see you then.
43:31Bye-bye.
43:31Bye-bye.
43:34Bye-bye.
43:40Bye-bye.
43:47Bye-bye.
43:50Bye-bye.
43:53Bye-bye.
43:55Bye-bye.
43:57Bye-bye.
43:58Bye-bye.
43:59Bye-bye.
43:59Bye-bye.
44:01Bye-bye.
44:01Bye-bye.
44:01Bye-bye.
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