Gang jailed at Chelmsford Crown Court for stealing £1m in BT Openreach cables across Suffolk, Essex, Cambridgeshire and Wrexham

A gang responsible for the thefts of about £1 million worth of BT Openreach cables, which resulted in thousands losing internet access, have been jailed.

Billy Lee Junior, Levi Lee, Samuel Sheady-Jones and Ashley Byford were sentenced to a combined 14 years in prison at Chelmsford Crown Court last Friday.

They had been due to stand trial in September, but entered guilty pleas.

The group robbed cables from locations across Suffolk, Essex and Cambridgeshire, as well as Wrexham, in Wales.

Travelling in 4x4 vehicles with fake licence plates, the gang would access manholes, which would contain miles of wiring. This would be cut and winched onto the vehicle before being dragged, the court heard.

It is estimated the group’s actions resulted in losses of more than £750,000 in service to customers and BT.

Police first got on the gang’s trail after discovering an abandoned 4x4 in Earith, Cambridgeshire, with evidence of stolen cables.

Forensic testing led them to identify Lee Junior, 24, of Chivers Road, Stondon Massey.

Other members of the gang – Levi Lee, 22, also of Chivers Road; Samuel Sheady-Jones, 23, of Cefn Mawr, Wrexham; and Ashley Byford, 26, of Thames Avenue, Chelmsford – were then identified.

They were linked to 31 thefts over a nine-month period, the court was told.

Officers caught up to the group in September 2022. Police scaled a wall outside a caravan site in Chivers Road, executing warrants at a number of addresses and arresting both Lees.

At their home, more than £40,000 in cash was seized. A further £10,000 was discovered in the same caravan and £4,000 was found in a box in nearby dog kennels.

A winch and wire cutters, alongside a Mitsubishi Shogun 4x4 and a Makita drill, were also recovered.

Forensic examination of the handle of the drill provided a DNA match to Ashley Byford, who was subsequently arrested in Chelmsford, the court was told.

Billy Lee Junior was sentenced to a total of four years and eight months in prison, while Levi Lee was given four years and five months.

Sheady-Jones will spend three years and seven months behind bars and Byford admitted to counts of conspiring to steal and was sentenced to 16 months in prison.

Detective Inspector Frazer Low from Essex Police said the gang didn’t think they would get caught.

He said: “This group caused widespread disruption, across a number of areas in England and Wales over a nine-month period.

“There was a significant impact on Openreach as a business totalling more than £650,000, which includes the cost of replacement of copper cable, materials, labour and any traffic management and civil engineering costs.

“There was also an indirect financial cost to the business and its customers, with 16,000 customer lines disrupted and I have absolutely no doubt that the offences caused vulnerable people to be cut off from family, friends and assistance in an emergency.”

The group may have thought they were operating under the radar, DI Low said, but officers were able to piece together their movements.

DI Low added: “The evidence and information which Openreach was able to supply played a large part in helping us build our case against the group and I’d like to thank them for working so hard alongside us.

“Ultimately, this work has resulted in a group of people being brought to justice.”