Three Balfour Beatty subcontractor workers have been arrested for the reselling of stolen constuction tools
The Metropolitan Police found the stolen construction tools using tracking equipment. The subcontractors had been using them to work on the Lower Thames Crossing, before stealing and storing them in a property in Ilford to resell later.
Tool-theft ring may have operated since 2019
Two suspects were detained at the scene, with another nearby also being detained, for operating a criminal enterprise in which the tools were systematically stolen, stored, bagged, and sold off. This could have been happening since as early as 2019, and is believed to be the largest stash ever found.
The tools involved were made by Hilti, Makita, Paslode, and Milwaukee, and include power tools, saws, compressors, surveying kits, table saws, industrial blowers, nail guns, and more.
Inspector Mark Connolly, of the Metropolitan Police policing team, East London, said: “Our teams are working with partners across construction, retail and logistics to disrupt the organised networks that profit from these offences, and to return stolen tools to their rightful owners.
Our message to tradespeople is to mark your items with synthetic DNA to make it easier to forensically link items and register the serial number with the manufacturer and the UK National Property Register.”
Organised crime in construciton is a serious matter
Last year, a construction tax fraud ‘mafia’ was arrested and jailed after systematically keeping VAT payments from customers, rather than sending them to HMRC, as well as keeping financial deductions made from sub-contractor agreements.
The members of the organised crime group include:
- Phillip Bailey, 36, was jailed for six years and three months on charges of conspiring to cheat the public revenue and transferring criminal property
- Daniel Newton, 37, was jailed for nine years and four months on charges of conspiring to cheat the public revenue and transferring criminal property
- Kevin Ratcliffe, 43, was jailed for 27 months on charges of conspiring to cheat the public revenue and acquiring criminal property
- Sean Dean, 41, was jailed for seven years on the charge of conspiracy to cheat the public revenue
- Lee Hudson, 56, was jailed for five years on the charge of conspiracy to cheat the public revenue
- Sarah Gillard, 41, was jailed for two years and given a two-year suspended sentence on the charge of acquiring criminal property
- Bradley Mortimer, 39, was jailed for three and a half years on the charge of entering into a money laundering arrangement
