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Seven men have been jailed for stealing more than £43,000 from gaming machines at motorway service stations across England, in a case which police and operators alike say highlights the need to tackle gangs with large enquiries rather than small-scale prosecutions for individual offences.
The Portsmouth-based group operated from Yorkshire to the southwest, sometimes hitting several locations a day. They used electronic devices to manipulate the machines, creating credits and forcing them to pay out jackpots of up to £500.
Adam Barnard, Paul Hircombe, Ian Jarvis, James Sharpe, Charlie Shaw and Thomas Wheatcroft – named as the gang’s leader – all pled guilty at Oxford Crown Court to a charge of conspiracy to steal, while Darren Carrick was jailed for money laundering. Sentences ran from six months to three years and four months.
However, it is speculated that they may have taken far more than the amount represented by the 50-odd specific offences with which they were charged: a total of £262,320 – £156,320 of it in pound coins – was deposited in Carrick’s account during 2009. About £75,000 was recovered and could be forfeited.
“Operation Sweepstake was launched by Thames Valley Police’s Major Crime team with a view to working together with the gaming industry to properly reflect the level of offending this gang were responsible for,” said detective inspector Kevin McGuire of Thames Valley Police.
“The gaming industry was suffering high losses due to the activities of organised criminal gangs such as these. Individual offences were reported and arrests often made but sentences were usually minimal as they were for single offences,” McGuire added.
It is understood that CCTV, data-capture equipment provided by gaming-machine vendors and by motorway-services operator Moto Hospitality, and Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras at Moto’s sites helped bring the gang down.
“The men who ran this scam took tens of thousands of pounds, not just from us but from all the major motorway service area operators over a number of years,” said Moto CEO Tim Moss.
“We gathered evidence that it was a crime that was occurring nationally and we’re thankful that Thames Valley Police listened to us,” he added.
