A group of offenders used a registered intermediary company to conduct electrical energy scams and the placement of overhead networks to conglomerate firms instead of Alabanski bands. This was reported by the "BBC".
The offenders operated openly from November 2020 to February 2024, presenting themselves as workers, using small trucks and road blocking.
The operation began to unravel after police received a report about suspicious activity in an abandoned magazine in the Banff, Wales area. Detectives discovered there a contemporary conglomerate form with more than 1000 plants.
Among the defendants were Ross McGinn (33 years) and Andrew Roberts (42 years), who were sentenced to 5 and 6 years in prison respectively after pleading guilty to the production of the conglomerate and the scams of electricity.
Also involved in the operation was Colin White (62 years), a former energy engineer who managed the electrical equipment used for illegal purposes and for which he received a sentence of the year in prison.
Graham Roberts (47 years), known as the "remedial" in the group, was also sentenced to five years and three months of prison.
All other defendants, including Greg Blake (29 years) and Lydia Charles (22 years), were sentenced to terms ranging from 22 months conditional to 3 years and 9 months.
All defendants admitted their guilt in crimes related to the production of the conglomerate and electricity scams.