SAS Catching the Criminals S01E01 (09 Sep 2024)
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CreativityTranscript
00:00Covert surveillance, reconnaissance, deception, stealth, and disruption.
00:07These are the skills I learned on the military front line.
00:11And they can be used to combat a different enemy.
00:15Britain's criminals.
00:20That's the teams running to position now.
00:22My name is Billy Billingham, and I've spent over 20 years in the SAS.
00:29Now, I'm going to show you how SAS tactics are helping to crack down on anti-social crime across Britain.
00:37All teams now in position.
00:39Strike, strike, strike.
00:40Some enforcement agencies are already using SAS tactics to hunt criminals.
00:45Check this out. This is exactly what they were looking for.
00:49Hey presto.
00:51And I want to find out how much the police are doing too.
00:54Go, go, go.
00:57She's going to pick up a target right now.
00:59You're lying, aren't you? And you know very well it's illegal.
01:02Let's go. You need to move quick. Stand by.
01:04Banged up. Job done.
01:21As a soldier, you are trained in multiple disciplines.
01:25This means you can deal with any situation, anywhere, at any time, when it happens on the ground.
01:43A successful police operation, just like in the military, begins like a jigsaw puzzle.
01:49You start with one small piece, then it takes all the skills of the team on the ground to find the remaining pieces and make the picture whole.
01:59In Manchester, the police are about to embark on a large-scale operation to find the missing pieces in an illegal drug importation case.
02:08The outcome of which has big implications both for the community and the whole of the UK.
02:15OK, this morning we're with the Greater Manchester Police.
02:17We're going to be striking them at a number of addresses.
02:20We're going to go in short, sharp. The doors are going down. Stand by.
02:24Detective Inspector James Cowles is running the op and has invited me along to learn about the intelligence they've received so far.
02:33Morning, James. Morning, mate. Good to see you, mate.
02:35So, what are we rolling with today, mate?
02:37We've got a number of warrants they're executing in the Greater Manchester area.
02:41It's part of Operation Advice, which is a proactive drugs operation.
02:44We've done some surveillance and proactive tactics around an organised crime group importing Class A drugs into the UK through normal delivery networks such as DHL, Royal Mail, etc.
02:56We haven't seen methamphetamine. That is a kind of liquid brought in in the UK in prime bottles, which is a kid's drink, obviously.
03:04So that's the concern.
03:05So this is the individual we're going for today. We believe he's involved in this conspiracy to import Class A.
03:11This is the guy here that we're going to be locking up.
03:13And we've got a picture of some of the drugs that have been imported.
03:16So this was the cannabis that he was found with.
03:18And then we have the photographs of the prime bottles that we intercepted with the methamphetamine.
03:25Smuggling a highly dangerous drug in soft drink bottles is not only illegal, it's deadly for any unsuspecting person who consumes it.
03:34I'm keen to find out who's behind this lethal racket.
03:37So do you know much about these people? Have you been tailing them for a while?
03:40Yeah, so this is part of a wider operation. We've already made some arrests late last night.
03:45We've got one individual that we did some enforcement on earlier last year.
03:49And we identified from his phone a number of individuals in the network, and that's who we're going to get today.
03:53There has been some other surveillance deployments in and around this operation. It was quite a rapid, quick time.
03:58So is that a simultaneous strike?
03:59Yeah, so we're doing all the strikes at the same time. So we've got two subjects today, three addresses.
04:04Cool. Very much similar to strikes we do, you know, a complete covert approach and a rapid strike onto target.
04:10Yeah. Hopefully we'll find something today as well that always adds extra evidence.
04:14You know, any kind of drugs, any criminal commodity, any extra mobile phones.
04:17That'll always be of value to the investigation.
04:19Happy hunting, mate. Let's go get them.
04:21Good stuff. Let's do it.
04:22In this case, the police already have enough intel for an arrest.
04:26But a thorough search for evidence is still a top priority.
04:30Officers will be after the spoils of organised crime, such as large amounts of cash,
04:35along with high-value items like cars, property and jewellery that could have been bought from their ill-gotten gains.
04:43Have you done the wrecking of the door at the moment?
04:45Not in person, no. I've had a look on Google.
04:48Yeah, yeah.
04:49They've got a lock-snapping kit just in case.
04:52So you're going straight for an enforcer, are you?
04:54Yeah, we'll do, yeah.
04:55So we've got a taser. Right, happy days.
04:57Get our body cams on. That's great stuff.
04:59Your challenger team are just doing one address, aren't they?
05:01So syndicate one are doing one address.
05:03So wherever you guys are, I know we're in the right place.
05:06Right, happy days. Good stuff.
05:07You've got a back-up, haven't you, for your methadone entry?
05:09Yeah, there's some treks and there's another lad as well meeting us there.
05:12Right, nice one. Good stuff. Right, shall we go?
05:14Ready.
05:15Happy days. Thanks very much.
05:16OK, so we've had the last bit of intelligence.
05:18So I know the MOE team are ready.
05:20It looks like it's going to be a forced entry.
05:22Should be pretty rapid.
05:24Hit the target, shock or capture, in, detain everybody,
05:28and then straight into the search.
05:30OK, let's roll.
05:38So again, with these surprise strikes,
05:40that then builds your network, doesn't it?
05:42Like you say, you've got one of the associated people
05:44which you didn't know were involved,
05:46then obviously from what you get off this raid
05:48will indicate or indict them.
05:50Yeah, absolutely, and we build that picture.
05:52We get to go upstream by identifying these individuals.
05:55Sometimes you'll see that their lifestyle is unbelievable,
05:58that the money that they have, cash-wise, is excessive,
06:01and sometimes you see them operating hand over fist
06:03in terms of the amount of volume of drugs they're selling,
06:06but they don't have anything to show for it.
06:08GI Coles and his team are hopeful that today's operation
06:12will deal a significant blow
06:14to an organised crime gang and their supply chain.
06:17Two minutes out.
06:20It's prep for action, two minutes to target, and then strike.
06:26Team four in position.
06:28So we're now just arriving at the forming-up point.
06:31All teams now in position.
06:37All teams, stay amber. Strike, strike, strike.
06:39All teams, stay amber. Strike, strike, strike.
06:42Let's go.
06:44Right, that's the teams now rolling into position.
06:50So this is the target building.
06:53That's the MOE team moving to target.
06:55Go, mate. Go on, go.
06:57OK, so the MOE's clearance now.
06:59Go in. Stand by.
07:01Hey!
07:09Clear!
07:14Clear!
07:20Go on, mate.
07:22I'm just going to search for any weapons.
07:28So, clean entry, detain suspects upstairs,
07:31and then we'll be brought down for further questioning later.
07:38The shock of entry has had a desired effect on the suspect.
07:42Since being detained, he's remained calm and cooperative.
07:47You've been done drugs before, mate, have you?
07:49You've not?
07:51So why are you involved in it now?
07:55You know why you're being arrested, right?
07:59It remains to be seen if he maintains his innocence
08:02when faced with police evidence.
08:08In the SAS, I learnt multiple ways of tracking people and equipment.
08:13And in the UK today, there are people using military-grade technology
08:17to track items stolen by criminals.
08:21Richard Taylor works for a theft recovery service.
08:25We provide a 24-7 security service,
08:28where if their assets get stolen,
08:30we go and recover them wherever they are,
08:33in the UK or in Europe.
08:35It could be a digger, a motorcycle, a pushbike.
08:38It doesn't really matter what's stolen, what it's attached to.
08:41We just then connect to the device, find its location
08:45and send out our operatives to find the asset with the police.
08:50Similar to the military, the tracking technology uses GPS and radio signals.
08:56You can look at what the army use or what the navy use.
08:59If you vary the technology, you're going to keep the criminals guessing.
09:02The equipment we use is accurate to less than one metre,
09:05and our average recovery rate is 98%.
09:08So, how does it work?
09:10Richard agrees to show me his technology in action.
09:13I've used stuff like this in the field.
09:15For security reasons, details of this system need to be blurred.
09:19So, I've got an analogue direction finder,
09:22so it picks up radio signals on a secret frequency.
09:25So, the tracking device will be emanating a pulse,
09:29and we'll pick it up on this device.
09:31We've hidden the tracker on a car nearby.
09:34Richard doesn't know which car, but has to find it.
09:37So, I've got the pulse already,
09:39and it's just a question of walking around into the car park
09:42and checking each direction.
09:46I'm curious.
09:47How long will it take Richard to find the device using his scanner?
09:51OK, so, the tracker is emanating the RF,
09:54and I need to go to the loudest direction.
09:57So, in this direction, I can hear it quite loud.
10:00Round in this direction, not so loud.
10:03So, I don't want to go that way, I want to go this way.
10:06It's definitely louder this way.
10:07Nothing in this direction, so I'm ruling out this side.
10:12We're homing in on a couple of vehicles here on a level 3.
10:16I need to get it to a level 2.
10:19This is increasing in RF.
10:22I've got a signal in here.
10:25It's no stronger in the passenger area,
10:28so it's coming louder down there.
10:32It's quite loud from the base of the car.
10:37Ah.
10:39Champion.
10:40Under five minutes.
10:42Not bad.
10:44So, we've seen how it works in a control test environment,
10:47but what has this military technology done to help find real stolen goods?
10:58The sensation of riding is just...
11:02It's a great experience,
11:04sensations, you get cornering.
11:08The acceleration sense that you have.
11:11The fun, riding with mates.
11:15The places that you go to, it's a journey for me.
11:22Geoff Keats was very proud of his ION Touring motorcycle.
11:27That bike, when I bought it, the way I'd specced it out,
11:31its value would have been in excess of £20,000 easily.
11:36It was the type of bike that I felt proud to own.
11:40It was definitely my dream bike.
11:43Geoff was so proud of his bike,
11:45he bought a military specced tracking device
11:47in the hope that he would keep it safe.
11:50The first I realised that there was an issue
11:53was seen on my mobile, which was actually on silent,
11:57that I'd been called several times by the company
12:01that I use for a tracker for the bike.
12:07I phoned them back straight away and they said,
12:10we've detected some movement on the bike.
12:14Geoff checked the garage and saw his bike was gone.
12:19I couldn't quite believe that it had happened to me.
12:22You know, this is not a high crime area.
12:26By that point, I'd thought to myself,
12:29there's no way that we are going to ever see that bike again.
12:34I fully appreciated I had a tracker fitted to the bike.
12:38I thought, these are probably a professional outfit
12:41that have taken it. It's gone.
12:45What I didn't realise was that as soon as I confirmed to him
12:49that the bike had gone, Richard was in his car
12:52heading up to my home from Southampton
12:55and by that point, using the GPS system,
12:59he'd already located the approximate area where the bike was.
13:04So, he was already on the way.
13:07The military hardware was doing its job
13:10and the signal was being picked up
13:12whilst Richard recorded the mission on his iPhone.
13:15We've got the reventer on and let's just...
13:18About a mile away. Let's see how we get on.
13:21Richard did reconnaissance on the spot where the GPS signal was coming from.
13:25Just beyond those houses, the other side of those houses,
13:28is where we're picking up the signal.
13:30And I'm now waiting for the police.
13:32Got me RF radio receiving equipment out, went round the site
13:36and identified that it was either coming from a white van or a garage.
13:41While I'm waiting for the police,
13:43I just thought I'd have a walk round the back of this street.
13:47That white van is one of the vans that's suspect through that gap there.
13:53Might go over and just check it from behind,
13:55but I don't want to draw any attention to myself.
13:57Geoff rushed to join Richard at the target site
14:00and saw the detection kit.
14:03It did look like something that you could imagine
14:06army or intelligence services using,
14:09sort of a handheld device that really homed in on the tracker
14:14in the bike.
14:16But we waited there for three or four hours
14:19until the police arrived and formalised that stake out.
14:24With police on the scene, they approached the van.
14:28It's quite low on the back.
14:30250kgs, that bike.
14:35Oh, that's definitely my dust cover.
14:37So are you 100% that that's your bike?
14:40Don't know. That is, yeah.
14:42That's my car.
14:44Military-style technology had foiled the thieves' plan
14:48to steal Geoff's bike.
14:50You know, the fact that this stolen motorcycle
14:52was in the back of a stolen transit, probably worth £200,
14:55you know, you can't see it.
14:57And the whole idea is they're trying to shield it from being found.
15:02The thieves in this case, they were never caught.
15:05You know, maybe it will happen in the future, who knows?
15:09The main point for me is the tracker did its job,
15:13I got my bike back, my life's back to normal.
15:25Back in Manchester, the suspect has been formally arrested
15:29and now the second stage of this operation is put in motion.
15:33The police have already previously seized the gang's imported drugs.
15:37The focus now is searching for evidence
15:40that can help prove large-scale drug distribution.
15:43So, happy with the method of entry and what we've got so far?
15:47So the door went in nice and quick, as you saw.
15:49We got this object under control, the handcuffs brought him down.
15:52We'll get him some clothes on, get a van,
15:54get him out of here as soon as we can.
15:56So the suspect we've got now is the identified...
15:58He's the one that we wanted, yes.
16:00He's been arrested for importation of Class A,
16:02so he's got an address that's controlled down the street.
16:05Had the suspect second property,
16:07a search team are already gaining access.
16:10The house is believed to be unoccupied,
16:12so their method of entry is more subtle this time around.
16:18So what I've done is I've authorised Section 18,
16:21house search, which the inspector can authorise.
16:24Which means that we can go and search that now,
16:26because obviously he could have a criminal commodity here
16:29or he could have it at his other address.
16:32The intel is the address used for backing up a possibly stolen...
16:36It has got access to it and it has had access to it recently,
16:39so we'll still have to do a decent search.
16:42This approach needs military precision.
16:44You follow all leads in real time and leave no stone unturned.
16:49Back at the first property, James receives word
16:52about the second strike that took place simultaneously
16:55in another part of Manchester.
16:57Yep, subject arrested.
17:01Received, thank you.
17:02We've got a successful strike, I believe, at the other address.
17:06The simultaneous address? Simultaneous address, yeah.
17:08OK, so that's gone in as well? Yeah, yeah, yeah.
17:10So that's two arrests so far? Two arrests, exactly.
17:12Two arrests, two warrants, that's what we're going for,
17:15so happy days, yeah.
17:16That's two arrests and three properties locked down.
17:19The operation so far is a success.
17:23He's now going to be brought out. Yeah.
17:25Taken in the violent, back to custody.
17:27Yeah, so we've got some clothes for him now,
17:30so we'll keep him in handcuffs until he gets to custody
17:32and then we'll go through there and hopefully at some point
17:35in the early hours of tomorrow morning
17:37we'll be getting a charge and remand decision.
17:45Bit of a morning shot for you, isn't it?
17:48It is, isn't it? It is, eh?
17:50Rude awakening.
17:53So that's him now in the back of the van
17:56and off to custody for the next phase.
17:59The result.
18:01With the suspect out of the way,
18:03the operation moves into phase three,
18:06search and accumulate.
18:11The pressure's on to get as much evidence as possible
18:14bagged and tagged,
18:16so it can be used in the custody investigation.
18:19There's going to be a procedure for searching areas,
18:21so what we'll do is we'll zone off the areas of the building,
18:24which makes sure that anything we find is fully documented,
18:27where it was found, but also it means we're not missing anything
18:30and there'll be officers deployed to each room
18:33and once all that's done manually,
18:35then we'll put a dog through it
18:37and the dog will be looking for cash, firearms and obviously drugs,
18:40yeah, absolutely.
18:42As a dog owner myself, I'm always happy to help.
18:46As a dog owner myself, I'm always happy
18:49to see these intelligent creatures on the front line.
18:54In the military, dogs have been used since World War I
18:58and still a permanent feature today.
19:01In the SES, we also use dogs
19:04and they're celebrated for their bravery and their courage.
19:07And that's why I don't go anywhere without my bulldog, Alfie.
19:12It's Saturday afternoon here in Chester, in the north-west of England,
19:16and at Chester Police Station, there's a very special operative
19:20that's about to start his shift.
19:22Detective Fido is ready to start a community resolution operation.
19:27His nose is as precise as any piece of kit in the military.
19:32But Detective Fido isn't working alone.
19:35At Chester Police, the team are being briefed about their part
19:40in today's operation.
19:42Operation Luna is to support Chester West and Chester Coordinated
19:46Multi-Agency Response to tackle ASB public disorder,
19:49drug use and crime in the city centre.
19:52Sergeant Dean Hugh is running the op with his local team,
19:56but they also have some canine support.
19:59OK, so today there's going to be two civilian drugs dog handlers
20:02out with patrols.
20:04Body scanning drugs dogs work by scanning the area around people
20:07to identify anyone that's been in contact with a controlled drug.
20:10Passive alert detection dogs are trained to indicate on a range
20:13of currently known controlled substances,
20:15even in very small quantities.
20:17OK, thank you very much.
20:19The team want to drive drugs out of the town centre,
20:22but their approach isn't about kicking in doors and making arrests.
20:26If we stop someone and it's a first-time offence
20:29and they've got a very small amount of drugs on them,
20:32or they commit a very low-level offence,
20:35as opposed to putting people through the criminal justice system,
20:38there's something we can look at called a community resolution.
20:41As opposed to arresting them and bringing them into custody
20:44and looking through the court system,
20:46we would consider a referral to a drug support agency,
20:50and it's a way to sort of get them to engage
20:53as opposed to having something documented on PNC.
20:57It's sort of a less intrusive way to deal with things, really.
21:00Now that the whole team are assembled,
21:04Detective Fido puts his snout scanner to work.
21:16Have you ever been stopped by the police before?
21:19Do you have any drugs or any paraphernalia on you at the moment?
21:23Not that I know of. Not that you know of?
21:26On active operations, I've learnt that sometimes talking to someone
21:30on the level is more effective than a tough approach.
21:34Hey, mate, you OK? Yeah.
21:36Come and have a little step over here with me, all right?
21:38My colleague's going to be here in a second, then there's two of us, OK?
21:41Yeah, yeah, yeah.
21:42The person here has no record of drugs,
21:44so the police use the option of a softer approach.
21:48I can't tell you how to live your life, we can't do that, can we?
21:51But what we can tell you is that if you get caught with drugs
21:54and you get arrested, it's a different path, isn't it?
21:58We do something similar to community resolutions in the army.
22:02We call it hearts and minds.
22:04Winning people over with a chat and not alienating them,
22:07it's part of every conflict I've been involved in.
22:11OK? All right.
22:13Not a lot, is it? No, it's not a lot to panic about.
22:16No, we'll cross that off before we get to it, eh?
22:18So this mail is going to be issued with what we talked about,
22:21a community resolution.
22:23It's eligible for one, it's a small amount of drugs.
22:26He's going to be referred through to drug support services
22:29and I've talked to him about engaging with them.
22:31So it's a locally recorded outcome,
22:33so if he gets caught with drugs again, he doesn't get a second chance.
22:37But it's also a lower-level outcome,
22:39so we're not going to be arresting this mail, he's not going anywhere.
22:42He'll sign the documentation, we'll do the referral and then it's done.
22:46They're going all right, they're indicating on quite a number of people.
22:49I believe this is the first positive one that I've seen.
22:52I'll have to have a check over there, but I think we're doing OK.
22:55By the end of the evening, police have given multiple community resolutions
23:00to people who haven't been stopped before.
23:02The team on the ground think it's time well spent.
23:06Have a good night, guys. Ta-ra.
23:08So, on the whole, it's been a pretty successful evening.
23:11What's been really good is us being out here, being present,
23:14talking to people, engaging with people, telling them why we're here.
23:17It just makes people feel better.
23:19You can't measure reassurance, but I'm sure we've done a lot tonight.
23:26Back in Manchester, the search continues apace
23:29and the teams are on the lookout for high-value items and large amounts of cash.
23:35Key evidence that point to an individual living beyond their legal means.
23:40Right, so a bit of a sit-rep from the OB, the sergeant's coordinating the search.
23:44So, one of the things we've identified is all the vehicle keys
23:47that are in the premises, probably about half a dozen or so.
23:50Audis, German high-powered cars.
23:53So, the strategy is anyone that finds a vehicle key,
23:55bring it down to the sergeant and we'll get them all lined out.
23:58No cash yet, some rupees, but not a significant amount at all.
24:01£10, £15 worth, a couple of mobile phones.
24:04They do the dirty work elsewhere and live quite happily and affluent.
24:08Absolutely, and drugs aren't the way he operates,
24:10the way he lives his life in terms of his downtime.
24:13But criminally, that appears to be his business.
24:16In cases like this, multiple properties and access to high-end cars
24:20are an immediate red flag.
24:23With all the car keys now collected,
24:25it's a case of matching the key with the car.
24:28Yeah, right, so I've got that one.
24:30Keep that. Right, up and out.
24:32I've got a BM there, I've got a couple of BM keys.
24:38From bunches of keys that they've found inside the building,
24:41there's a number of associated vehicles
24:44and each one individually will be searched thoroughly.
24:48So, as you can see, these guys are thorough.
24:50Nothing is going to be missed.
24:52From the bunches of keys that have been found at the location,
24:56one has identified a target vehicle
24:59right opposite the second address that was searched.
25:03That was the dry hall.
25:05The fact that this vehicle is linked to the empty property
25:08is of immediate interest to DI Calls.
25:11It's the only vehicle that's registered to his address.
25:14It appears to be used as a taxi.
25:16There's some Uber plates in the back of the car,
25:18so we're not sure about that.
25:20That might be a legitimate income.
25:22But cash-rich businesses, such as taxi driving,
25:25that are like private hire stuff,
25:27they're good ways of laundering money
25:29if you've also got another enterprise of what we suspect to be drug dealing.
25:32So we have to look at all avenues
25:34and this may be what he uses to mask his income.
25:36Got you.
25:39The network is widening.
25:41More pieces of the puzzle and more questions for the suspect to answer.
25:45But right now, it's back to the first property
25:49where a significant discovery has been made.
25:52Happy days. What have we got there, sorry?
25:54Just some cash. Yeah. Nice one.
25:57Obviously, he still knows everything.
25:59Right, brilliant. Still over £1,000.
26:01Bingo!
26:02I don't know about you, but personally,
26:04I don't keep envelopes of cash dotted around my house
26:08and it isn't long before more cash like this is found.
26:12About 2K. That's all right, yeah.
26:14Two different locations.
26:15Yeah, we can still bring that together. That's fine.
26:17There's a double bag in it. Yeah, happy days.
26:19So one's... It's uncounted. Yeah, yeah.
26:21But we'll get it seized. Yeah, happy days.
26:23And then we'll just do the vehicles.
26:25Yeah, we'll seize that under pocket, that money.
26:27So under our legislation, anything over £1,000,
26:30what we suspect to be £1,000, we can seize.
26:33Can they account for it? They may be able to.
26:35If they can't, under a civil burden of proof,
26:37we'll have that money.
26:39After months of investigation, intel gathering and arrest,
26:44this operation is drawing to a close.
26:48The dog's just finishing off upstairs.
26:50We're basically secured the whole area.
26:52It's all sterile.
26:53The dog's just going through.
26:54He's not indicating anything at the moment.
26:56We're going to nearly wrap it up.
26:57We've got two phones.
26:58We've obviously got about £5,000 in cash.
27:01We've got evidence suggesting he's at another premises
27:03where he registered a business to.
27:05We've got about a dozen or so keys for vehicles.
27:08All indicates some kind of layering,
27:10some kind of criminality, some kind of money laundering.
27:12But he has been a good warrant.
27:13The other address has been a good warrant, so I'm really happy.
27:16Simultaneous strikes executed with military precision,
27:19just like in the SAS.
27:21Going hard and keep going
27:23until you have all the pieces needed to solve the puzzle.
27:27So that's another job well done.
27:29A great arrest. Stand by.
27:36Tackling organised crime requires piecing together
27:40a complex web of criminality.
27:43But if you follow the money,
27:45you'll often find the source of that crime.
27:48I'm learning that catching the bad guys
27:52often needs brains and brawn.
28:05Copyright Australian Broadcasting Corporation