Final member of OCG that attacked cash machines across North of England has been jailed
Wayne Singleton, the final member of an organised crime group (OCG) involved in burglary, theft, and ATM attacks across the North of England, has been sentenced to nine years in prison. The gang caused over £300,000 in stolen property and £50,000 in damages. Operation Benson, led by the Serious and Organised Crime Group (SOCG), resulted in the arrest and sentencing of 13 individuals, with a total of 51 years and eight months in prison. The gang used methods like combustible gases and Stihl saws to attack ATMs. Authorities praised the collaborative effort between police forces and SaferCash.
Wayne Singleton, the last member of a prolific criminal gang that blew up cash machines and raided shops across the North of England, was locked up for nine years on Monday as a £350,000 crime spree finally came to an end.
Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court heard how the 36-year-old, of Woodlands Close, Glossop, helped orchestrate a nine-month campaign in which masked raiders used combustible gas to blast ATMs apart or attacked them with Stihl saws before fleeing with bundles of notes. Between July 2018 and March 2019 more than £300,000 in cash, vehicles and stock was stolen and another £50,000 of damage was left behind at sites in Nottinghamshire, the West Midlands, Derbyshire and Greater Manchester.
Singleton, who was convicted of conspiracy to steal, conspiracy to burgle and conspiracy to cause an explosion likely to endanger life, brings to 13 the total number of gang members jailed since detectives launched Operation Benson in March 2019. Warrants executed at nine addresses in Greater Manchester and Derbyshire that June saw seven suspects arrested at once; by the time Singleton was led to the cells the group had received combined sentences of 51 years and eight months.
DCI Phil Kennedy of Greater Manchester Police’s Serious and Organised Crime Group said the result “shows ours and our partners’ determination in dismantling organised crime networks who commit these kinds of offences”, while Sarah Staff of the ATM-security body SaferCash praised investigators for protecting community access to cash.
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