SAS Catching the Criminals S01E13 (2024)

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SAS Catching the Criminals S01E13 (2024)
Transcript
00:00Covert surveillance, reconnaissance, deception, stealth and disruption.
00:07These are the skills I learnt 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
00:34on 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.
01:06Over the years I've carried out many operations against organised terrorist groups
01:26who've been a threat to our national security.
01:31I've found the best way to deal with an organised threat
01:35is with an even more organised response.
01:400600 hours. I'm on my way to meet the police.
01:44They start early, like the military.
01:47OK, so this morning then we're in York.
01:49Today's going to be one of the biggest takedowns of suspected drug dealers
01:53coming from out of town, abusing this local community
01:56and taking advantage of what is seen as a soft target.
01:59However, they are in for a big shock. Stand by.
02:07First stage of the op, dawn raids.
02:10North Yorkshire police are hitting multiple targets across their patch.
02:14A military tactic also used by special forces.
02:18Disrupt the enemy with precise planning.
02:21Right, good morning everybody.
02:23Thank you all for turning out so early.
02:25And I'm really excited about today.
02:28My name is Carol Kirk, I'm the detective chief inspector for this operation.
02:32We're going to disrupt the distribution of illegal drugs.
02:36We're going to utilise technology to make sure that we're maximising
02:40every single opportunity we have to disrupt and detain.
02:44Nothing else to say but go get them.
02:49Disrupt and detain are two words I know well from the SAS.
02:55Today, these officers are going after the OCGs,
02:59which stands for Organised Crime Groups.
03:02Organised Crime Group sounds like a real fancy name
03:05and it sounds like it's got a little bit of kudos,
03:07but let's make no bones about it, these are criminals.
03:10These are criminals coming into our area to exploit vulnerable people.
03:14On any operation, information is power.
03:18According to the National Crime Agency,
03:21at least 59,000 individuals are involved
03:24in serious and organised crime in the UK.
03:28So I'm guessing we're going to be at a simultaneous number of,
03:31we call it targets, houses or locations where we know these people are.
03:35Yeah. What are we expecting to find there?
03:37People, drugs, weapons? People, drugs, could be weapons.
03:41So the reason why we're targeting certain addresses
03:44is because we've built up such an intelligence picture
03:47that we believe that there will be something illegal in there
03:50and most of the time it will be drugs.
03:52Is it going to be a soft approach or an aggressive approach?
03:55We used to have a ramping up system, you know,
03:57so we generally go hard, drop down.
03:59So as soon as you put the fear of God, you've got the shock of capture,
04:02you have control of it, as opposed to a soft approach and then it escalates.
04:06If you go and knock on the door and say it's the police,
04:09if you were a drug dealer, what would you do?
04:11You'd get rid of it down the toilet
04:13or you'd be out the back door, wouldn't you?
04:15Ob-Medusa is a massive operation.
04:18North Yorkshire police are running it
04:20alongside specialists from Merseyside Police.
04:23Nearly 100 officers carrying out raids and patrols for 48 hours
04:28to disrupt OCGs and safeguard vulnerable people.
04:32I'm assigned to a strike team.
04:34What sort of drugs are you expecting?
04:36So the intelligence link in this address is the sale of Class A drugs.
04:41That's what we're sort of expecting to find there,
04:44but as well as the hardened drugs, you normally find, you know,
04:47the less hardened drugs, like Class B, Class C,
04:50your cannabis and things like that as well.
04:52So this particular task now,
04:54are these purely dealers or are they dealers, users?
04:57These people that we're targeting today
04:59are probably two or three rungs up the ladder
05:02from your normal users on the street.
05:04So they're the ones that we want to target
05:06and try and get them off the picture if we can do.
05:09Time to target, 30 seconds, rolling in.
05:12And that's the target house on the left.
05:14Right, ditch it there. Come back afterwards. Go, go, go.
05:19That's the teams running to position now.
05:21So what you've got is the cut-off around the back
05:23and the canine will join them,
05:25and then you've got the immediate entry team straight onto the door.
05:28Police!
05:32Go!
05:33Police! Keep your hands down!
05:35Check that back room. Back bedroom.
05:38That's entry made.
05:40That's entry made immediately.
05:42A split second, they're in.
05:45The house is empty.
05:47It's what we call a dry hole.
05:49This is common in this type of operation
05:51and there will now be a search of the property.
05:54So the search is going on in the front of the house
05:57and simultaneously the dog's in the back,
05:59checking the perimeter, out buildings
06:01and then eventually through the back door.
06:04And although there's no suspect inside,
06:07the sweep of the house is helping the police build a profile of him.
06:11We've got some paraphernalia, which we expect to find,
06:14which is linked to drug dealing and drug use.
06:17And potentially a burner phone as well,
06:19which again links into the paraphernalia
06:21and suggests that he may be involved in the dealing
06:24and supply of Class A drugs.
06:26If we find other stuff as well, then that's going to link in
06:29and there may be other offences that he's wanted for.
06:32The suspicion is that someone here
06:34is a lower-level member of an organised crime gang
06:37and now the team have potential new evidence.
06:45During my time in the SAS, I've operated undercover all over the globe.
06:50I've hidden my identity using a mask
06:53more times than I can actually remember.
06:55But there are people working undercover right here in the UK
07:00to catch a particular breed of criminal.
07:04And it's not just the police investigating them.
07:09Out in Wiltshire, the council has its own undercover unit,
07:13a crack team led by an ex-army man
07:16whose identity needs to remain anonymous.
07:19Let's call him Rob.
07:21His target, fly-tippers, and he's on his way to a known hot spot.
07:26So we've received a fly-tip report,
07:29which is over in the west of Wales,
07:31which is over in the west of Wiltshire.
07:33And this particular location is somewhere which is very remote,
07:37so it's perfect for fly-tippers.
07:39So we're just going to go and have a look at that.
07:41Rob is on a covert mission
07:43and he's going to be using a piece of kit
07:46I'm used to deploying in the field, a secret camera.
07:49He's tasked to install one at the site
07:52to catch these criminals in the act.
07:54I have a military background
07:56and all of that side of things has taught me
07:59really important things when it comes to installing cameras,
08:02in particular the covert ones,
08:04where you need to actually have them in locations
08:07where they're not going to be seen
08:09and we can leave them in there for periods of time.
08:11So, you know, the basic skills of any soldier,
08:14the cam and concealment,
08:16and that's cam and concealment, of course, of the camera equipment,
08:19but it's also how you're thinking about yourself
08:21when you're actually installing it.
08:23And those sorts of skills I'd learned years back
08:26from being in the services and my time in the military.
08:30Covert filming is a technique they have used many times
08:33to bring these fly-tippers to justice.
08:36And the scale of the problem is vast, according to Adrian Hampton,
08:40Wiltshire's head of highway operations.
08:43We get 200 fly-tips a month,
08:46which is obviously 50 a week.
08:48That is a scary number.
08:50It's also a waste of money.
08:52Wiltshire Council spends over £2.5 million per annum
08:57on clearing, littering and fly-tips.
09:01Imagine what that £2.5 million would do for your roads.
09:04Imagine what that £2.5 million would do for adult and social care.
09:09We have vital services that are crying out for money
09:13and I am spending £2.5 million
09:16picking up somebody else's fly-tip.
09:18It's just wrong and we've got to stop it.
09:22Wiltshire Council are cracking down hard on these criminals
09:25and before installing the camera at this site,
09:28Rob and his team have an investigation to carry out.
09:31They are tasked with a fingertip search of the waste
09:34for anything that will link the debris
09:37that has already been dumped back to the culprit.
09:41It's painstaking work.
09:43OK, so we're at the fly-tipping spot now.
09:46Be careful, be careful.
09:52So we're heading down to almost the ravine base.
09:58Looking up to the right, we've got where the road is where we parked
10:03and that's obviously the location where vehicles will pull up,
10:07make sure nobody's around
10:09and then whatever they've got in their vehicle,
10:11they'll dump down the side.
10:13A really quick operation and they're away.
10:17The amount dumped here is shocking.
10:20TVs, fridges, furniture,
10:22chemicals leaking from white goods and construction waste
10:26can be consumed by wildlife and pollute the soil.
10:30And it's safe to say that nothing dumped here is biodegradable.
10:34I'm absolutely disgusted at what I can see
10:37with the type of waste we can see here.
10:39It makes me feel sick.
10:43Rob and his colleague get to work.
10:45Fly-tipping's a criminal offence.
10:48It carries imprisonment, it carries unlimited fines
10:52and this is a crime scene,
10:54so we have to follow the same rules as our police colleagues do
10:59and we need to make sure we preserve the evidence,
11:03importantly, at the scene.
11:07So what my colleague's doing now is searching some of this domestic waste
11:11and looking for addresses,
11:13any correspondence that there might be within the waste.
11:15It's really important that we photograph that in situ,
11:18actually where we found it.
11:20Everything's documented and it's all in order
11:23for us to move forward with the investigation.
11:27We take pictures of distinctive items that have been dumped
11:30so we can ask people,
11:32do you recognise this item of waste,
11:34as we can see some toys within the bag.
11:38In fact, there's a big penguin up there.
11:40Look, we could get the penguin in.
11:43With the evidence bagged up on previous offenders,
11:46it's time to set up the sting
11:48and with Rob's army background, he's an expert.
11:51Preparation is important.
11:53Reconnaissance of the area is really important
11:56and these sorts of skills are certainly ones that I've picked up
11:59being an ex-military person
12:01and they stay with you, they stay with you for life.
12:05It helps us in terms of our camera capability,
12:09how we recce, how we install, how we monitor, how we extract.
12:14So, you know, number one is never be compromised.
12:17If I was installing this today, for example,
12:20and somebody came down and actually noticed
12:22me putting the camera in,
12:24that's something we'd pull out straight away.
12:27This is the kind of strategy I can relate to.
12:30A cover up from start to finish.
12:33So this is the camera we use.
12:35Very, very small, easy to conceal, good long leads.
12:38We do often bury all this equipment, we'll bury it in the ground.
12:42It's waterproof, it can operate really well in harsh conditions.
12:46I'm aware from my military experience that, you know,
12:49it's important to make sure things are concealed as effectively as possible.
12:58We really adapt our equipment.
13:00So I'm just going to try and...
13:02I'm just going to maybe try and use a bit of this ivy now
13:06to conceal some of these cables, if I can.
13:09When that cable's tucked away,
13:11it's very hard to be spotted by somebody else.
13:15But that's behind the tree as well, so anybody walking along
13:18are not actually going to see that concealed.
13:21Just like military hardware,
13:23the motion detector and high-resolution images
13:26mean that Rob is able to read number plates
13:29and identify suspects' faces.
13:31A powerful jurisdiction authorised by the council.
13:35You know, it's covert cameras.
13:37We're regulated and we have to make sure that we're appropriately authorised
13:41and we have operations signed off by magistrates' courts.
13:45These covert cameras are definitely driving down the problem in Wiltshire
13:49and driving up the conviction rates.
13:53Every single flight tip is investigated
13:56and every single flight tip with evidence some form of action is taken.
14:01We will issue about five fixed penalty notices a month
14:05and we probably go to court once a month as well on that.
14:10So we take it very, very seriously.
14:13The reason why I'm so passionate is it just should not occur.
14:17There are ample opportunities for people to get rid of their waste.
14:21There are companies that are legitimate,
14:25that people should use to dispose of their waste correctly.
14:28If you are someone at home and you've got some rubbish,
14:32just think about where it's going to end up, you know.
14:35Use official channels.
14:37You do need to check their credentials.
14:39They should actually have a card
14:41with their registered waste carrier licence actually on there.
14:44If they haven't got that, do not engage them.
14:47You have a legal responsibility to ensure that happens
14:50and if you don't do that, currently the fine is £400
14:54and that is going up to £600.
14:56So when that white van man knocks on your door
14:58and says, I'll clear your rubbish for £5,
15:00it can be a very expensive way of disposing of your fly-tipping.
15:07The council have a zero-tolerance approach
15:09and Rob's mission at this hot spot is complete.
15:13Everybody has seen the absolute mess and disgust of the fly-tipping
15:17that's taken place across the way there
15:19and now we've got a camera in place.
15:22Hopefully we'll catch some of the culprits
15:25and bring them to justice and get them in the courts.
15:28Here at Wiltshire Council, we have simply had enough of fly-tippers.
15:33We are taking on these military actions
15:36to ensure that we stop the scourge of fly-tipping
15:39and that we protect this beautiful Wiltshire countryside
15:44for everybody to enjoy.
15:56Back with North Yorkshire Police, we're gathering more evidence.
16:00But just as we finish,
16:02my team is quickly being called for back-up on another raid.
16:09So what was the incident that led to this?
16:11As they were executing the warrant, as I understand it,
16:14a vehicle turned up, saw that the police were there,
16:17did a quick 180 and tried to leave the premises.
16:20They were subsequently stopped.
16:22I believe they discarded some items.
16:24So they've been arrested.
16:25Their partner and some of the people that were at the premises
16:28have also been arrested.
16:29Forensic search needs attention to detail
16:32and these officers picked up on a scent
16:34when they spied some suspect-looking packages.
16:37We've gone out there, looked over the wall and found these two.
16:40Perfect.
16:41But then in the caravan there's shed loads.
16:44What drugs is it and what would that be valued at?
16:47We suspect it's cocaine.
16:48It's difficult to say exactly how much,
16:50but it's going to be a good few thousand pounds worth at least.
16:53That was ditched and we reckon there's more inside.
16:55Yeah, so more drugs have been found in the caravan itself.
16:58It's great. It's good, isn't it? Yeah.
17:01But the suspect packages found dumped over the wall
17:04leads the officers to an even bigger find inside the caravans.
17:08What have we got? A lot.
17:10A lot?
17:11Did you see the bags? Yes, yeah.
17:13Like 12 more.
17:1512 more of them? Wow.
17:20During the search,
17:21an even more remarkable find reveals some vital evidence.
17:26There's quite a lot of Class A substance drugs here
17:30and also there's a supply list
17:32and on the supply list of the people that owe these people money
17:36for supplying them with the Class A drugs
17:38are the people that we're going after already on the list,
17:41so an absolutely fantastic result.
17:45As the operation moves into the first night,
17:47the teams will keep up the search.
17:49It's long hours and arduous work,
17:52something I'm used to in the SAS.
18:00Section 23, misuse of drugs at warrant.
18:03When morning breaks, we're back at HQ with our next target in sight.
18:07He's a suspected dealer who's known to be armed and dangerous.
18:11It's going to be drugs, it's going to be drug paraphernalia,
18:14it's going to be cash, it's going to be phones,
18:16it's going to be SIM cards, the usual.
18:19Potentially a number of associates as well.
18:21Potentially a number of associates in that address.
18:24One of whom is potentially...
18:26Well, his brother, two or two.
18:28His brother and this lad could be a bit more aggressive
18:31if they don't fancy it.
18:35SAS tactics are needed here.
18:37I learned on my first few missions,
18:39you go in fast and you dictate what happens.
18:43It stops trouble before it starts.
18:46OK, so we've just had the brief.
18:48Again, it's a drugs task.
18:50This time there's more associates.
18:52This should get a little bit more hairy.
18:55DRAMATIC MUSIC
19:11As a young man, I got in a lot of trouble.
19:14The military was my redemption.
19:16It's great to hear stories of similar people like me
19:20who did bad things but were able to turn their lives around.
19:29My name's Paul. I'm 45 years old.
19:32I am an online mentor.
19:35Good afternoon, everyone. It's me, Paul, Addict Mentor.
19:38I'm an addict in recovery. I know you already know that.
19:41Paul is a qualified mentor with a degree in health and social care
19:46and a lifetime of experience.
19:48He uses his knowledge to livestream and create online videos
19:52to advise and help people all over the world.
19:55With anything from drug addictions to eating disorders,
19:59all kinds of people come to him for help.
20:02I love what I do. I love being able to create content.
20:06I love being able to make people smile,
20:08but I push the most powerful messages through my content
20:13and I absolutely wouldn't change it for the world.
20:18His tireless work hasn't gone unnoticed,
20:21including a BBC Wiltshire's Make A Difference Volunteer Award.
20:25I get a mad phone call from a DJ at BBC Radio Wiltshire going,
20:31you've been nominated for Make A Difference Award,
20:34but there are four of you.
20:36There are four finalists.
20:38It was a really nice thing to get invited to.
20:42Got all dressed up, went there and I won it.
20:47I won it and I couldn't actually believe that I won it.
20:51I still look at my little award and think,
20:54that was just the craziest, craziest night.
20:57It was a massive, massive shock, but I love that I won it.
21:01Paul does whatever's in his power
21:03to ensure that people have somewhere to come to get support.
21:07His volunteering takes many forms on a variety of platforms.
21:12But how are you feeling?
21:14I run a WhatsApp support group
21:16called the Recovery Rovers Support Group.
21:19And asking for help when you know you need it.
21:23I check in with all my members several times a day.
21:29We at least aim for one solid 10, 15-minute call every single day.
21:35I check in and it's not just about addiction,
21:38it's about mental health as well.
21:40Some people are just part of the group because they're lonely,
21:43they don't have other people.
21:45Absolutely, I get a sense that I help people just by talking to them.
21:50If you really want to change, you can change.
21:54Across all of my socials, I've got videos that just blow up.
21:59You've made it through Monday.
22:02The most viewed video I had was 1.2 million views.
22:08His online following has led to Paul to volunteer offline too,
22:12making many guest appearances in person.
22:15He's been working closely with Bristol Rovers Community Trust,
22:18giving talks to children about the dangers of knife crime and drugs.
22:23I'm going into schools at the moment.
22:26I'm going to youth clubs to go talk to these kids,
22:29let them understand the choices that I made,
22:31the wrong decisions that I made.
22:34And I just have these kids coming back to me now through my social media
22:39and actually go, mate, thank you so much for coming in.
22:42I really enjoyed your talk and it gives them food for thought.
22:45I'm so pleased to see that there is living proof
22:48that one person can change so many people's lives.
22:51I don't know how many people I help, but I know I help people.
22:55Do I have numbers? No, I don't keep numbers.
22:58I'm not that guy.
23:00One day at a time.
23:03That's all you need to get through, one day at a time.
23:06One day at a time.
23:08I've been doing this now for two and a half years,
23:11every single day, putting that content out.
23:14So it's not luck.
23:16You know, there's a lot of hard work and a lot of planning.
23:19It's been another crazy 24 hours for me.
23:22I get messaged every single, single day,
23:26like, messages from all over the world.
23:28You can't buy that.
23:30That's all the proof I need that what I'm doing is working.
23:33Check me tomorrow, I'll be at the gym at some point doing a live stream.
23:37Peace, love and unity.
23:43Operation Medusa.
23:45Two days focused on disrupting organised crime gangs
23:48and we have a potentially violent man to arrest.
23:54The plan on this one is to stun and surprise,
23:57something I'm used to with the SAS.
23:59There could be a few little issues on this one,
24:02but flexibility, I think, is the key on this
24:04and the team are all ready to go, so let's see what happens.
24:09We've got to be quick, quiet and focused.
24:12Open the door!
24:14Just locked it.
24:15Move back from the door!
24:19Go!
24:20Come on.
24:21Move!
24:22Legs!
24:23Hands still!
24:27Keep still.
24:28Anyone else?
24:29In the distance, suspect located and overwhelmed.
24:32Is this your flat?
24:34Any weapons or drugs?
24:36Inside, the police have got control,
24:39but it seems the door was double locked from the inside,
24:42delaying entry.
24:44OK, so we're just going to do the search around the outside
24:47just to make sure nothing has been thrown out the window.
24:51The team bring in the dogs,
24:53some canine backup to sniff out any contraband.
24:56There's a certain smell in there,
24:59which in my experience means that probably somebody's been smoking there
25:05and certainly with that bit of a delay getting through the door,
25:09anything tangible might have gone somewhere that we can't find it.
25:15Yeah.
25:16But we'll see.
25:17The door literally was locked in front of us as we got there,
25:20which took a bit of a delay in terms of getting in.
25:23It took quite a few smashes of the enforcer to break down the three locks
25:27that were locking this door from the other side.
25:29In that time delay, there's always a possibility
25:32they could flush any drugs down the toilet
25:34or get rid of it in other manners.
25:43Can you just confirm what we've got in there right now?
25:46Yeah, we've got two named males,
25:48the registered owner of the flat or the registered occupant of the flat.
25:52Right.
25:53And we've got another male who is circulated as wanted
25:57on the PNC for violent disorder.
25:59He's currently under arrest.
26:01Going to go through the searches and everything, obviously,
26:04but under arrest at the moment for unwanted.
26:09The arrest is done and a further two people inside are being searched.
26:13Class C drugs are found on one person,
26:16but this is the man with the reputation.
26:19And now he's off to custody to face charges of alleged violence.
26:24This goes to show the importance of planning and working as a team.
26:29You never know what's behind the door.
26:31Fail to prepare, prepare to fail.
26:35How was that, Phil?
26:36Entry was made inside the premises.
26:38We had three occupants inside there.
26:40One that we knew that was going to be there,
26:42two that could have been there.
26:44One of the persons inside the premises was also wanted for a violent disorder,
26:47so he's been arrested.
26:48So overall, you know, it was a successful warrant.
26:51A violent suspect off the streets.
26:53Another success chalked up for the team I'm with.
26:56But across the board, weeks of planning and gathering intel
27:00on Operation Medusa throughout North Yorkshire has been a success.
27:04With 32 arrests in total,
27:07seizing a large quantity of Class A and B drugs
27:10and closing down two organised crime groups,
27:13it's been great to see part of it in action.
27:16So at the end of the tasking today,
27:18up here with North Yorkshire constabulary against our target.
27:21We've had some successes, simultaneous operations, mission complete.
27:29Disruption with force and stealth were used by today's teams.
27:34And I'm learning more about these brave officers
27:37and the tactics they're using,
27:39which I can relate to during my time in the SAS.
27:43These types of operations break up patterns of crime
27:47and ultimately help get the criminals off the streets.
28:13[♪upbeat music playing♪