WATCH: Criminal gang jailed for £600,000 raids including £93,000 Peterborough burglary

Two men – one from Spalding and the other from Loughborough – were found by police investigating a major criminal gang to have travelled from Peterborough to Scotland in a Fiat motorhome. Their journey in January 2022, tracked by police who also spotted them returning to the Midlands a few days later, was described this week by police as a “breakthrough” in rounding up the gang.

A special investigation by the East Midlands Special Operations Unit (EMSOU) was joining up the links between the Midlands and Scotland.

Since March 2021, EMSOU had been working with Police Scotland on a series of ATM raids across England, Wales, and Scotland.

Since March 2021, police attributed 17 attacks by the gang on ATMs with more than £600,000 in cash stolen and vehicle theft and building damage at a cost upwards of £1 million.

The gang was found to be using two methods of attack, depending upon the type of automated teller. If it were standalone, they would use a stolen van and straps to rip it from the ground.

They would then steal the contents and make off in a stolen high-powered vehicle bearing false registration plates.

For those machines situated in a building, the gang would use a power tools or vehicles to smash through doors, then used a drill and other tools to access the contents of the ATM.

Again, they would flee with the cash in a stolen car on false plates.

Most of those responsible were based in Leicestershire, with key contact in Scotland to enable a number of attacks across the border.

They were coordinated by a core group of three – Patrick Gilheaney, John Smith, and Tali Smith – who then used partners, relatives, and other associates in an ‘on-call’ capacity to ensure the criminal operation ran smoothly.

But then came the breakthrough in January 2022, when Gilheaney and John Smith travelled from Peterborough to Scotland in a Fiat motorhome and returned to the Midlands a few days later.

Also making the same journey was a blue Saab and a stolen grey Audi RS4, both on false registration plates.

During that time, there were four ATM attacks across the central belt of Scotland and latter searches of suspect vehicles linked through ANPR (Automated Number Plate Reader) footage and CCTV – including the Audi, stolen from Merseyside a few months earlier, which was found burnt out in Huntingdon – recovered Scottish bank notes, drills and saws and receipts for items such as face masks, gloves, and dark clothing.

In November 2022, hundreds of officers, and staff from seven forces contributed to the execution of a number of warrants.

Among the significant arrests, items seized included stolen high-powered vehicles and car parts, further high-value vehicles, and motorhomes, more than £30,000 in cash and two imitation firearms.

Attempts by the gang to throw officers off the scent, by communicating only with ‘burner’ phones while travelling between attacks, were in vain.

Forensic examination of seized items brought each person into the frame.

Pertinently, Gilheaney’s DNA was found on a crowbar left in a vehicle used in an attack in Loughborough on 15 March 2021 and Tali Smith’s DNA was found on the key to a stolen transit van, used in an attack in Attenborough, Nottinghamshire, in September 2021.

EMSOU Detective Chief Inspector Darren Brown said: “This was a brash but technically skilled organised group, which found strength as a close-knit, omni-competent criminal community, operating under a clear leadership.

“On the face of it, this type of crime may seem victimless, but in attacking ATMs this group have attacked at the very heart of the community.

“Residents were left without a local means of accessing their cash. Many of these attacks also left vital community conveniences, such as Post Offices, petrol stations and ‘corner’ shops out of action while they were repaired.

“And then there’s the associated residential burglaries and thefts of the vehicles used in the crimes.”

He said: “The sentences given today reflect how seriously the criminal justice system views this type of organised offending and the harm it inflicts on society.

“Through some expert investigation and concerted effort, we have also demonstrated the level at which UK policing can collaborate across county and country borders in order to protect our communities.”

The following previously pleaded guilty to a range of offences, all committed between 14 March 2021 and 18 November 2022, and were sentenced at Leicester Crown Court on Friday 10 May 2024.

Jailing the men, His Honour Judge Brown said: “These are serious and organised crimes, and I have a duty to impose substantial sentences.”

He imposed the following sentences:

• Patrick Gilheaney aged 34 and formerly of Griggs Road in Loughborough: Seven years and six months imprisonment, for conspiracy to commit a non-dwelling burglary with intent to steal and conspiracy to steal from another.
• John Smith aged 32 and formerly of Evergreen Close in Spalding, Lincolnshire: Seven years and six months imprisonment, for conspiracy to commit a non-dwelling burglary with intent to steal and conspiracy to steal from another.
• Tali Smith aged 34 and formerly of Barlestone Road in Bagworth, Leicestershire: Six years and eight months imprisonment, for conspiracy to commit a non-dwelling burglary with intent to steal and conspiracy to steal from another.
• Alfie Boswell aged 32 and formerly of Barlestone Road in Bagworth, Leicestershire: Five years imprisonment for conspiracy to steal and assisting an offender.
• William Boswell aged 24 and formerly of Barlestone Road in Bagworth, Leicestershire: Three years imprisonment for conspiracy to steal.
• Sarah Haynes aged 35 and formerly of Barlestone Road in Bagworth, Leicestershire: 12 months sentence, suspended for 24 months, for assisting an offender.
• Victoria Smith aged 35 and formerly of Evergreen Close in Spalding, Lincolnshire: 12 months sentence, suspended for 24 months, for assisting an offender.
• Rosie McAllister aged 28 and formerly of Barlestone Road in Bagworth, Leicestershire: 12 months sentence, suspended for 24 months, for assisting an offender.
• Francis Gilheaney (aka Kathleen Connors) aged 33 and formerly of Griggs Road in Loughborough: 12 months sentence, suspended for 24 months, for assisting an offender.

Gordon McPhee, aged 37 and formerly of Peters Lane in Pumpherston, Edinburgh, was found guilty of conspiracy to commit a non-dwelling burglary with intent to steal and conspiracy to steal from another after a trial in February. He was sentenced to six years.

While little of the cash stolen during these raids was recovered by police, EMSOU will now pursue the gang under the Proceeds of Crime Act, to establish how much they made from their criminality and seek court orders to re-coop.

While little of the cash stolen during these raids was recovered by police, EMSOU will now pursue the gang under the Proceeds of Crime Act, to establish how much they made from their criminality and seek court orders to recover it from them so it can be reinvested into community safety initiatives.

*In those cases where no cash was stolen, the attackers were either disturbed, unsuccessful in gaining entry to the ATM or the ATM was empty.