A DRUGS lord and a gangland arms dealer were among 37 cons who paid a bent security worker to slip their tags. They gave Martin Crean £500 a time to fit devices too loosely to their ankles. It meant the criminals could simply take them on and off at will — and carry on offending. […]
A DRUGS lord and a gangland arms dealer were among 37 cons who paid a bent security worker to slip their tags.
They gave Martin Crean £500 a time to fit devices too loosely to their ankles.
It meant the criminals could simply take them on and off at will — and carry on offending.
Yesterday Crean, of Romford, Essex, was jailed for seven years after admitting 34 counts of perverting the course of justice.
Judge Sheila Canavan said the case showed police forces had taken “a worryingly lax attitude towards enforcement”.
Crean, 49, worked for outsourcing giant Capita, which had a £400million contract to tag offenders.
But his greed meant burglars could break into homes while their tags sat at home, “creating the perfect alibi”, Snaresbrook crown court heard.
One gangland arms dealer slipped his tag in three days.
And a drugs kingpin dodged monitoring for up to a year while facing trial for running a £10million cannabis factory.
The scandal was uncovered when police went to arrest a teenager.
He was not home — although his tag showed him there.
A Scotland Yard probe has since led to 28 convictions.
Capita said it had tightened practices after a robust review.
