Northwest Railway Metal Theft Gang Stopped In Their Tracks

05/04/2012

A metal theft gang responsible for large scale metal theft from the rail system in the North West of England have been stopped in their tracks today after they were sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court to a total of 21 years 2 months imprisonment.

In 16 incidents of theft over 16 months the group of nine defendants stole tons of steel rails that had been stacked by railway tracks because they were worn or surplus to requirements and were awaiting collection and disposal.   The thefts occurred across Lancashire, Cumbria, Cheshire, Derbyshire, West Yorkshire and Greater Manchester. 

Thomas Coffey, 46, from Salford who operated as the lynchpin of the crime gang was sentenced to 5 years. The other defendants were sentenced to between 16 months and 3 years 2 months.  They had all pleaded guilty before trial to conspiracy to steal rail and fencing belonging to Network Rail and others.

Most of the men had previously been employed by railway companies and used their knowledge of systems and processes in the rail network to plan and carry out the thefts.

On each occasion the group hired a specialist vehicle with heavy lifting gear and a trained operator to remove the rails from the track and to transport them to scrap dealers.  One or more of the defendants would phone the hire company, pass themselves off as genuine rail workers usually giving a false name, and arrange for the vehicle to go to a rendezvous point, where the driver would be paid in cash.  One incident involved the theft from Kearsley train station of over £100,000 worth of railway fencing belonging to a hire company. 

There is evidence that the group realised approximately £25,000 by weighing in scrap rail.

Some of the defendants were arrested at the scene of one of the offences, and evidence against the men included telephony evidence, fingerprint identification and DNA recovered from items, such as tools and clothing they had abandoned at the trackside.  Staff at the vehicle hire companies also provided vital evidence. They were arrested by British Transport Police as part of Operation Aerial, set up to target crime gangs responsible for metal thefts from railway tracks in the North West.

John Dilworth, Head of the Crown Prosecution Service North West Area Complex Casework Unit said:

"This was not just a series of opportunistic thefts. This was a highly organised, carefully planned assault upon the railway network for significant profit by a group of people with prior railway employment experience.  

"The gang identified opportunities to steal the rails, posed as genuine rail workers to hire vehicles and drivers, loaded up the scrap metal and arranged for its delivery and sale at scrap dealers.  These were audacious crimes that were being carried out in broad daylight, but the thieves left behind a strong trail of evidence that, through a thorough investigation and prosecution, led to these convictions.  

"For obvious reasons very strict safety procedures apply to anyone working at the trackside.  The unauthorised removal of rail from the trackside close to operational railway lines is not only blatant theft, it also presents a danger to rail staff and passengers."

"Metal theft is a serious problem as criminals seek to take advantage of the increased prices they can get for scrap metal. Because of the prevalence of these offences there are strong public interest reasons for prosecuting, whether the amounts stolen are large, as in this case, or small.

"This case should serve as a warning to any criminals who are intending to commit metal theft crime.  Police and prosecutors are taking a robust and proactive approach to these offences and will continue to work closely to bring these cases to court."