Tony Gray

A Norfolk rogue trader estimated to have made more than £2m running an illegal vehicle dismantling business has been jailed for more than two years and faces having nearly £700,000 confiscated by the court.

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Tony Gray, 56, ran his operation from Wheatley Bank, in Walsoken, flouting regulations by not declaring his earnings to HM Revenue and Customs and also illegally abstracting electricity to run his business.

He also did not have an environmental licence for the business, which is estimated to have made him more than £2.25m over a five-year period.

But the authorities finally caught up with Gray and he was arrested following a year-long covert investigation by a host of agencies led by Norfolk police, to crack down on the rogue trader.

The raid involved 60 police officers in June 2009 and also involved the Environment Agency, Her Majesty’s Customs and Excise, and the Health and Safety Executive. During the operation, code-named Invincible, police found stolen vehicles and parts, and £122,000 in cash was recovered. It was also found that more than £2,000 in electricity had been illegally abstracted.

A number of Gray’s personal vehicles, including a Rolls Royce, Jaguar sports car and two motorhomes, were also seized and his bank accounts containing more than £20,000 were frozen.

Now Gray faces losing everything after he was jailed for two years and four months yesterday at Norwich Crown Court after he admitted breaching environmental regulations and two fraud offences of failing to declare an income and information, as well as abstracting electricity.

He also faces having his assets worth nearly £700,000 confiscated by the court.

Jailing him, Judge Paul Downes said that the figures involved were considerable and said: “If someone had not caught up with you, you would have carried on indefinitely.”

He said that he had also operated the business without the proper licence.

“That in itself was a flagrant disregard. You must have known it was required.”

He said that he could have run his business on a proper basis, but said: “Instead you went about it in a dishonest way and, therefore, have landed yourself in this present situation.”

It was determined that between 2004 and 2009, his criminal activities had earned him £2,253,157.83. He was stripped of assets worth £698,427.86 seized by the police during their investigation under the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA). These included three houses, 408 vehicles, £122,000 in cash and £20,000 bank savings.

Gray must sign over any further assets gained to pay off his remaining debt.

Samantha Riggs, for Gray, said he had a number of tragedies in his life as his two sons were killed in a car pursuit with police in 2000 when their car ended up crashing into a tree and his brother was shot in another incident.

She said he had tried to better himself and set up his business.

“There were attempts to improve the yard but he did not have a waste management licence.”

She said that as a result of this case he had lost everything: “He won’t have a penny to his name.”

Speaking after the case, investigating officer Det Sgt Pete Jessop, from Norfolk Constabulary specialist Operation Radar Team, said: “The site operator had failed to comply with the agencies that regulate this type of business activity, which left us with no other option than to take the action we did.

“We work closely with scrap sites throughout the county who are law-abiding and it is fair to say this was an unprecedented case with Gray showing a complete lack of disregard for the authorities.

“The site had a long term diverse effect on the local community and businesses. The positive action taken demonstrates that illegal businesses will not be tolerated in Norfolk.

“Today’s sentence goes to show that crime does not pay.”

He added: “This has been a lengthy investigation involving several organisations and demonstrates how agencies work well together in Norfolk by sharing information to maximise impact on people who chose to operate outside of the law.”

The Operation Radar Team is a specialist investigation unit which targets bogus callers, rogue traders and criminals involved in linked rural crime, in conjunction with other agencies.

The assets seized by police under POCA will be sold at auction and ploughed back into the criminal justice system nationally and locally, to continue to fight financial fraud.

HMRC was awarded £69,000 in compensation for tax evasion and energy supplier E-on was also re-imbursed.