Rogue Haulage Firms Targeted In Regional Crackdown On Organised Crime
Haulage firms and truck drivers involved in organised crime
across the North West are being targeted by law enforcement
agencies during a 12-month crackdown supported by
Crimestoppers.
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Drugs, guns, illegal tobacco, laundered fuel, and dangerous fake
alcohol are among the contraband that are smuggled into the United
Kingdom from overseas then brought to the North West hidden in
lorries.
Titan, (the North West Regional Crime Unit), is
leading an operation codenamed 'Hedgehunter' aimed at:
· Disrupting criminal activity by rogue elements within the
haulage industry
· Gathering information about who is involved
· Supporting law-abiding members of the trucking industry whose
profits and livelihoods are being threatened by criminals
Operation Hedgehunter is being supported by independent charity
Crimestoppers, Border Force (BF), the Serious Organised Crime
Agency (SOCA), HM Revenue & Customers (HMRC) as well as all six
regional police forces and other agencies.
Detective Chief Inspector Janet Hudson, the Senior Investigating
Officer for Operation Hedgehunter said:
"This is the first time that Titan has led an operation
targeting haulage companies as the movers and shakers in serious
and organised crime in this region.
"Almost all organised crime affecting the North West involves
commodities like drugs, weapons or contraband crossing our borders
illegally and end up fuelling crime on the streets of our
communities and damaging people's lives.
"By targeting rogue elements within the haulage
industry we are disrupting this supply chain, driving the criminal
element out of trucking and firing a warning shot across their bows
that we are going to be looking very closely at their business
practices.
"The vast majority of firms are run by decent,
law-abiding people who are simply trying to run a legitimate
business and make a living. But they are not competing on a level
playing field because some of their rivals are using the proceeds
from organised crime to expand their business unfairly.
"My message to them is help us put a stop to this by
sharing what you know about suspicious or illegal activity in your
industry."
Operation Hedgehunter is a multi-agency operation
aimed at encouraging people working in the haulage industry and the
wider public to report on hauliers who are operating outside of the
law and industry regulations. The haulage industry turns over £64
billion each year, employing 220,000 people and operating 425,000
vehicles.
From next Wednesday (November 21) police and other
agencies will be carrying out highly visible roadside examinations
of heavy goods vehicles being driven on the motorway network to
check if they are carrying any illegal loads or have committed any
traffic offences.
A high-profile awareness-raising campaign aimed at
truck drivers and other motorway users will also encourage them to
report any information about illegal or suspicious activity
anonymously to Crimestoppers.
Leaflets with an eye-catching image of a set of truck
doors with the slogan: 'Illegal load on board?' will be placed by
Border Force officers in the passports of truck drivers going
through security checks at key ports. Business cards will also be
handed to them in cafes and garages in the region's main motorway
truck stops.
Law enforcement agencies and border officials have
successfully targeted hauliers from all over the country and Europe
in the past with millions of pounds of drugs seized and offenders
being given double-digit prison sentences.
In September this year lorry driver Stephen Newland
from Burscough, Lancashire was jailed for eight and a half years
after Border Force officials found 45 kilos of cocaine worth £8
million hidden in a false bulkhead in the driver's cab. Newland
claimed her had used the lorry to transport a friend's belongings
from the north to the south of France and denied there was anything
on board. However after the discovery at Dover he admitted being
knowingly concerned in the importation of a controlled drug.
In the same month, businessman Gary Pattinson from
Hull was sentenced to 18 years imprisonment for plotting to import
high quality cocaine into the country hidden in boxes of flowers.
An investigation by the Serious Organised Crime Agency found that
Pattinson had driven to Rotterdam in Holland to pick up the cocaine
but was stopped by Border Force officials when he returned to Hull
two days later. A search of his HGV revealed 89 boxes of
chrysanthemums which, when X-rayed, contained 84 kilos of 97 per
cent pure cocaine with an estimated street value of £23.5
million.
Border Force officers have also recently stopped five
people from Eritrea hiding in a lorry bound for Crewe, which had
been stopped at Calais. A sniffer dog detected the group hiding in
the lorry, which had come from Czechoslovakia.