Crime gang posed as workmen digging up street to supply power to £21m cannabis operation

A drugs gang disguised themselves as workmen to dig up streets to help protect a £21m cannabis operation across the UK.

An organised drugs gang teamed up with dodgy workmen to protect a £21million cannabis operation that stretched from Dundee to Portsmouth.

Eight men from England have been jailed for 28 years for their involvement in the scheme that saw electricity supplies diverted to 100 cannabis farms.

The operation, by company Elev8 spanned 32 police forces areas, including Dundee - although no specific details of their Scottish operations were released.

The Wigan and Liverpool-based company had criminals wearing hi-vis clothing dig up roads to divert power supplies to houses, warehouses and disused shops that were being used to store cannabis farms.

The investigation began in January 2023 when North Wales Police received intelligence from residents in Bangor about suspicious activity at a long-abandoned shop on the high street, which led to the seizure of cannabis cultivations worth approximately £1.2 million.

In the months that followed, additional warrants were carried out at other empty properties on Bangor High Street, leading to the recovery of a further £800,00 worth of cannabis plants.

When officers reviewed CCTV footage, they discovered five men working on the high street in a liveried van bearing the registered company name 'Elev8'.

The footage showed these individuals engaging in activities that appeared to be legitimate utility work. The men wore high visibility clothing and used signage to close roads, making it appear as though they were conducting legitimate work in broad daylight.

Operation Spark was launched and during their enquiries, they discovered a WhatsApp group chat named 'Elev8 Civils & Utilities'. Within the chat, the group discussed their work locations and shared multiple photographs and videos.

It was found that most of the cannabis farms were occupied by Albanian foreign nationals, who claimed they were trafficked into the UK illegally due to debts they owed, acting as gardeners.

On February 8, 2024, coordinated strikes took place to arrest the 10 members of the crime group and various diggers, breakers, generators, vans, motorcycles, and cabling were seized.

Elev8's company directors Ross McGinn and Andrew Roberts ordered the work to be carried out.

The work of the group was so dangerous that Roberts was burned in an explosion.

Skilled jointer Graham Roberts spliced and connected the live cable to run the new feed to the premises.

Michael Ashurst, Greg Black, Lewin Charles, Aiden Durand, and Jack Sherry were all groundworkers, responsible for digging up the roads and exposing cables.

Colin White, a former Scottish Power employee, stole equipment from the Liverpool depot to provide the vital caballing equipment they needed to carry out the works.

Another man who passed work to the crime group and is believed to have links with Albanian OCG's is being sentenced at a later date.

James Allison, a senior Crown prosecutor, said: “The pretence of being genuine workmen digging up the road and repairing utilities was the perfect disguise.

“They no doubt thought they would get away with their criminal operation but they were wrong and are now behind bars.”

Detective Chief Inspector Zoe Russo from the NWROCU's Operation's Team said: "This crime group ran a highly sophisticated but dangerous operation, operating out of fake utility vans, which allowed them to work all over the country without raising suspicion.

"This investigation has dismantled a significant criminal network, preventing a significant amount of drugs from reaching our streets and blighting our communities. I hope today's sentencing sends a clear message that we will not tolerate such organised crime in our communities."

Detective Inspector Richard Griffth, North Wales Police added: “The men in this case had absolutely no regard for the safety of the public or rule of the law and today it has caught up with them. We will continue to act on information to disrupt those who cause the most harm in our communities.”

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