AN undercover police officer has denied that there was “nothing wrong” with cable accepted by a scrapyard during a sting operation.
Yesterday the second of two officers who posed as metal thieves at TR Rogers & Sons took the witness stand at Oxford Crown Court.
The officers – codenamed ‘Andy’ and ‘Kinger’ – were sent to the Nuneham Courtenay scrapyard to see if staff would accept “suspicious” metal last year.
It is alleged they were met with “wilful blindness” from five employees, despite making repeated references to the cables and lead they brought in being stolen.
But yesterday Peter Stage, defending Simon Rogers, suggested to ‘Andy’ that the officers brought in cable that appeared OK.
He said: “It was totally unremarkable cable – nothing unusual about it.”
The officer replied: “It’s cable that people should not have and should not be traded.”
Mr Stage said: “Total twaddle, there is tonnes of this stuff traded every week. There’s nothing unusual or wrong about this transaction whatsoever.”
Andy answered: “That is not the case.”
Terence Rogers, 70, of High Street, Drayton St Leonard; Simon Rogers, 42, of Bromsgrove, Faringdon; Martin Pace, 36, of Brookmead Drive, Wallingford; Ian Marshall, 29, of Evenlode Drive, Berinsfield, and Darren Andrews, 34, of Colwell Road, Berinsfield, deny attempting to conceal, disguise or convert criminal property. The trial continues.
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