01.05.08
Manchester cable thieves jailed following European arrests
Three men have been have been jailed in connection with the theft and handling of stolen cable from the railway in the Miles Platting and Cheadle Hulme areas of Manchester. The sentences come just three days after a Europe-wide day of action resulted in 110 arrests.
The three convicted men sentenced at Manchester Crown Court on Friday, 25 April are Alan Bircher, 28, from Cheadle Hulme (22 months imprisonment), Jason Ogden, 36, from Harpurhey (14 months) and Karl Brady, 37, from Harpurhey (eight months).
• Bircher had pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to one count of theft of cable, three counts of handling stolen goods, and two counts of going equipped in relation to thefts from the railway between December 2006 and February 2008. He was also dealt with for possession of cannabis and amphetamines.
• Ogden pleaded guilty to two counts of handing stolen goods.
• Brady pleaded guilty to one count of cable theft.
The European ‘Day of Action’ was held on Tuesday, 22 April and involved rail police from across Europe in an operation coordinated through Railpol, the European railway policing organisation. Police forces from Austria, Belgium, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, The Netherlands and the United Kingdom took part.
Nationally, BTP officers visited 57 scrap metal dealers, conducted 26 crime reduction visits and made 13 arrests. In the North West BTP arrested and charged two men in the St Helens area in connection to theft of cable as part of the day.
Commenting on the latest convictions, Detective Sergeant Glenn Lee from ‘Operation Drum’, BTP’s team targetting cable theft on the railways, said: “These sentences send a really strong message that theft of cable from the railway will not be tolerated and is taken extremely seriously by BTP and the Courts.
“Cable theft remains one of BTP’s biggest challenges and we are putting significant resources into disrupting, arresting and prosecuting those responsible.
“Theft of cable on the rail system involves not only great financial loss, but causes hours of delays to millions of passengers. It is also hazardous for those involved who put themselves at risk by trespassing on lines and for others, including children, who may use trespass routes opened up by thieves. This is certainly not a victimless crime."
The three convicted men were arrested between December 2006 and February 2008 in connection to the theft of cable.
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