FLASH
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British electricians who were hired by a group of Albanians to steal electricity in order to supply "bar houses", causing millions of pounds in damage to the state, end up in prison.
On Friday, eight people were jailed for their roles in the criminal group, which investigators found was involved in setting up "bar houses" in 32 different areas across the UK between November 2020 and February 2024.
The group, led by company directors Ross McGinn, offered their services to Albanian organised crime groups, investigators from the North West Regional Organised Crime Unit said.
The firm was registered at Companies House and two of the electricians had LinkedIn profiles on which they posted photos of seemingly legitimate work to promote the company.
During the hearing, Judge David Potter said all the defendants were "driven by greed for money to continue this illegal trade."
Their work was "essential" in setting up the cannabis 'farms' discovered on premises including a former hotel, shops, a nightclub, a pub and an empty shop, he said.
"Most people would just think they were a regular company doing the work, but they weren't. They had no permit, they had no license. They had no legitimate reason to be there, and in fact, they were there to abstract electricity," he said.
Through Operation Spark, set up to investigate the company, police seized cannabis plants worth up to £21 million from more than 100 farms, most of which were occupied by Albanian nationals.
Footage recovered by investigators showed electrical explosions as the gang dug into a road in Middlesbrough to lay their own cables with existing ones to get power.
A photo found on a phone showed one of them with burns to his face, thought to have been sustained while carrying out the work.
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