Organised crime group plead guilty to bank courier scam

The organised crime group pleaded guilty to conning elderly residents in Surrey, out of over £120,000 by posing as bank employees and couriers.

The nine men and one woman appeared at Guildford Crown Court, jointly charged with conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation.

They will reappear at the court for sentencing on September 6 and 7.

The group are Mark Leacock 43, of Church Road, Crystal Palace, Scott Hutson, 23, of Headley Drive, New Addignton, Iain Hall, 48, of St James Road, Croydon, Aaron Leacock, 24, of Starling Close, Croydon, Patrick Bennett, 27, of Cinnamon Close, Croydon.

Also Paul Bennett, 44, of Ferndale Crescent, Carshalton, Justin Reis, 33, of Beaver Close, Anerley, John Mark Skelly, 34, of London Road, Enfield, Tarno Reid, 36, of Alexandra Drive, Lambeth and Sharon Cummings, 41, of Belvedere Road, Lambeth.

One other defendant - Mark Packham, 32, of Chetwode Road, Tadworth - did not enter a plea and remains on bail in connection with this investigation.

The charges were dropped against a twelfth defendant.

An investigation was launched after a series of offences across the county in which false pretences were used to obtain people's bank cards and PIN numbers.

Surrey Police's Cross Border Investigation Team received more than 100 reports of offences and attempted offences across Surrey, London, Sussex and Kent between April 2011 and February 2012.

In total, the group managed to obtain £125, 757 in cash and goods. They made further failed attempts to obtain £94,219.

Detective Chief Inspector Paul Rymarz, who led the investigation, said: "The guilty pleas today reflect the wealth of evidence that we have against these individuals and I would like to pay tribute to the tenacious and meticulous work conducted by the team who worked on this investigation.

"I hope this demonstrates that we will relentlessly pursue those who deliberately target the most vulnerable and elderly members of our communities for their own gains and ensure they are brought to justice."