ERSOU (Eastern Region Special Operations Unit)

The UK’s first INTERPOL Silver Notice has been published to help trace and recover the criminal assets of a convicted fraudster thought to have made £8.5 million illegally. Anopkumar Maudhoo, who used several aliases, has been made subject to the order, which facilitates locating, identifying, and obtaining information about laundered assets such as properties, vehicles, financial accounts and businesses. He was convicted last month after orchestrating a large-scale conveyancing fraud which offered investment opportunities in supposedly repossessed properties or the re-development of plots of land. However, in reality the properties were not subject to repossession proceedings and the genuine owners were unaware of the fraudulent sales. Maudhoo, 45, of Wapping, London, admitted a total of 76 offences including fraud, money laundering and possession of false identity documents, following an investigation by our Regional Organised Crime Unit (ROCU). Following close working with INTERPOL National Crime Agency (NCA) & City of London Police, the Silver Notice will allow member countries to share alerts and requests for information worldwide. Read more ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/e8bDPT42

Four members of a criminal network which used small aircraft to drop cocaine packages in the Dorset countryside have been jailed for more than 47 years. An investigation by our ROCU found the OCG, which operated on the Hertfordshire and Essex border, used a car wash business as a front for the criminality, which involved planes flying from France and jettisoning parcels for collection. Planes would intentionally avoid radar systems, flying without the required documentation needed when entering UK airspace. 56kg of cocaine was seized during the operation, judged to have a street value of £4.2 million. Evidence found by our detectives included a piece of paper found inside the packaging of one of the cocaine parcels which matched one suspect's fingerprints. Searches of vehicles associated with the group also identified an aviation radio and papers with sets of drop-off coordinates. Subsequent analysis of the group’s digital devices post-arrest also uncovered a video on a phone showing one OCG member examining and unwrapping a cocaine package which matched those later seized. Read more -https://lnkd.in/eYXg84rm

💷 A chartered loss adjuster jailed for fraudulently submitting a series of fake insurance claims using relatives’ identities, has been ordered to repay criminal gains of more than £200,000. 💷 Justin Boydell abused his position to process fake claims and invoices which he portrayed to be genuine. He also kept items recovered from genuine claims, such as items stolen during a burglary, which should have been sold on behalf of insurers but instead kept for himself. 🕵♂️ A joint investigation between our financial investigators and Norfolk Constabulary began in 2023 after a relative of Boydell discovered a bank account set up without their permission and documents relating to an insurance claim at a deceased relative’s home. Between 2015 and 2022, Boydell employed three main methods: 🎯 Using stolen identities of relatives to open bank accounts and email accounts to obtain home insurance policies before then submitting false, high value claims. 🎯 Fabricating fake invoices and correspondence to support a payout to fictional contractors, subsequently verifying the work and authorising the insurance company to pay the invoices. 🎯 Instead of returning recovered items or selling them on behalf of the insurers Boydell kept items for himself. This included a Rolex Submariner watch worth £9,350 and a piece of artwork worth £2,750 later found hanging in his home. At a Proceeds of Crime Act hearing Boydell was ordered to pay £203,564.90, of which £200,571.67 will be paid as compensation to his victims - predominantly insurance companies. 🔒 He must do this within three months or face a further two years and six months in prison. Read more ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/dCaVBHaz

Twelve people have been arrested and multiple weapons, a Rolex watch and £17,000 cash seized across the eastern region during a month-long intensification period to tackle fraud. Throughout February, our financial investigators took part in Operation Henhouse, a national campaign coordinated by the National Economic Crime Centre and City of London Police. During the activity five people were charged and remanded into custody and weapons seized including a samurai sword, machete and a zombie knife. Our ROCU worked with the seven police forces across the eastern region as well as the Financial Conduct Authority, National Crime Agency (NCA) and National Trading Standards. Fraud is the most prevalent crime in the UK, causing victims long-lasting emotional and psychological harm as well as financial loss. It accounts for approximately 41 per cent of all crime reports, and costs an estimated £6.8bn each year in England and Wales alone. To help reduce their risk of becoming a fraud victim, visit the Stop! Think Fraud website (gov.uk/StopThinkFraud) for comprehensive guidance and support. Suspected fraud should be reported to Action Fraud online at actionfraud.police.uk or by calling 0300 123 2040. Information about those committing fraud can be shared anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or crimestoppers-uk.org.

Last week we teamed up with Anglia Ruskin University to run a symposium bringing together law enforcement agencies, academics and practitioners to share insights into how to best tackle county lines and exploitation across the region. County lines is the term used describe drug dealing where organised criminal groups (OCGs) use phone lines to move and supply drugs, usually from cities into smaller towns and rural areas. The event saw our specialist detectives working with more than 200 peers to explore multi-agency strategies to combat county lines drug trafficking and the criminal exploitation of vulnerable people. The symposium featured a series of keynote speeches, panel discussions, and interactive breakout sessions, providing a platform for knowledge exchange and collaboration among experts tackling these complex issues. One of the most impactful moments was a lived experience panel discussion, where a mother and her son bravely shared their personal experiences of child criminal exploitation. Their testimony reinforced the urgent need for victim-centred safeguarding strategies and multi-agency interventions.

Law enforcement agencies across the UK - including our Regional Organised Crime Unit - have teamed up in a crackdown on the gangs behind mass cannabis cultivation. There are clear links between serious crime and those involved in cannabis cultivation, with the drugs trade fuelling gang violence as groups compete for territory and look to hunt out their opposition. The same gangs are frequently involved in wider drug dealing, money laundering and violent offending, with cannabis typically a key source of illicit income within their networks. Across eastern England, our ROCU supported as police forces carried out 52 pre-planned, intelligence-led warrants against addresses with links to organised cannabis grows. More than £10 million in cannabis was seized, with 20 suspects arrested and several weapons located and taken into police control. https://lnkd.in/em8m5Jy8

Ever wondered what it’s like not being able to speak to family and friends about your job? 💭 In the first of our new five-part podcast Inside Counter Terrorism Policing, we speak to a Covert Human Source Handler who lets us into what that’s like. Using a cypher to protect her identity, ‘Emma’ shares her career highlights. From starting out in cybercrime tackling sexual predators, to entering the world of counter-terrorism surveillance and human intelligence... To celebrate #InternationalWomensDay, we’re sharing exclusive stories from women at the heart of tackling terrorist plots in the UK. So grab your headphones, cue up episode one and subscribe on Acast, or wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes every Thursday 🎧 https://lnkd.in/e96Ct-BW

🛩️ Four members of a criminal network which used a small aircraft to drop cocaine packages worth £4 million in the Dorset countryside have been convicted of drugs offences. 🪂 The organised crime group, which was based on the Hertfordshire and Essex border, used a car wash business as a front for the criminality, which involved a plane flying from France and jettisoning the parcels for collection. 🕵♂️ The four members of the group have now been convicted, after Tomas Bauza, 44, of Loughton was yesterday (Tuesday) found guilty following a trial at St Albans Crown Court. Read more ⬇ https://lnkd.in/ecR2D6eB

💻Cyber specialists are offering free support to schools and parents 👨💻 The ERSOU Cyber Protect and Cyber Choices Network are offering a series of free, one hour webinars, focused on internet safety for both school staff and parents. They focus on a range of topics including risks that children and young people may face online as well ensuring that school governors know of the online threats facing schools. Click the link below for more information and details about the dates: https://lnkd.in/ezzWCi8c #CyberSafety #CyberSecurity #YoungPeople #SchoolInternetSafety #CyberChoices

Five men who formed the delivery arm of a criminal network which manufactured and converted blank guns and ammunition have been jailed for more than 62 years. The members of the Hertfordshire-based OCG worked closely with other gangs who produced the firearms, distributing them to other criminals across the UK. Detectives from our #ROCU recovered phone messages showed that Andre Parris, 28, from Hitchin, orchestrated the operation via encrypted messaging application Signal. He worked closely with Ricky Turner, 29, from Stevenage, who stored the firearms before passing them to trusted couriers for distribution. Andrew Wilson, 53, from Letchworth, was one of the couriers, moving guns to different locations across the country and using passwords when making collections or deliveries to ensure he was liaising with the right purchaser. Messages showed that Parris also sent postcodes and passwords via Whatsapp to couriers Paul Aldridge and Niall Curley, both from Stevenage, to complete collections and deliveries. Guns were regularly distributed across the country, with Curley making trips to Glasgow, Liverpool and London in the weeks before his arrest. When officers arrested Turner, 34 firearms were found in his home stored in individual zip lock bags and wrapped in bubble wrap. Search teams also found 340 rounds of ammunition, more than £1,000 in cash and class A drugs. Curley and Aldridge were apprehended after ERSOU officers had observed them at Wilson’s address delivering a package thought to contain a gun. Wilson was later arrested during a traffic stop, with officers finding a firearm in a zip lock bag and seven rounds of ammunition in his car. They are the second OCG to be dismantled as part of the operation, after three others were jailed for nearly 69 years for their roles in the production of the guns and ammunition.