It’s not unusual to spot roadworks when we leave our homes – workers in high-vis jackets, vans with logos, cones, barriers, and someone digging up the pavement. Most of the time, it’s nothing more than standard utility work. Maybe even a minor annoyance on our way to work.
But what if those workers weren’t who they seemed? What if they were dangerous criminals, endangering your life and the lives of your loved ones by illegally diverting electricity?
That’s exactly what happened at dozens of locations across the UK, where fake workmen were diverting electricity worth hundreds of thousands of pounds, to power large-scale cannabis farms in the UK.
How the Operation Was Carried Out
Over more than three years, the gang posed as legitimate workers with uniforms, vans, barriers, and signage, and even closed roads. In plain sight, under a company they set up as cover for illegal activity , ‘Elev8 Civils and Utilities Ltd’, they dug up roads and pavements under the guise of routine maintenance. In reality, their illegal energy abstraction from the grid was helping organised crime gangs generate millions in drug profits.
Led by Ross McGinn and Andrew Roberts and using stolen tools and equipment, the gang was diverting electricity from the mains, up and down the country to houses, warehouses, shops, a former hotel, pubs, nightclubs, and even an empty department store—all converted into cannabis factories. Diverting electricity powered the lighting and heating systems needed to grow the drug on an industrial scale.
One of the fake workmen, Colin White, was working for ScottishPower at the time and stole specialist equipment for the operation worth over £5,000. At the company’s base in Wigan, officers also uncovered a haul of diggers, generators, breakers, vans, motorcycles, and electrical cabling.
Officers believe the fake workmen charged criminals a fixed rate for their illegal energy abstraction services, with McGinn and Roberts coordinating with crime groups and taking a 'significant portion' home. The operation ran so deep that McGinn even promoted their company on LinkedIn.
Cannabis Farms and Organised Crime
McGinn and Roberts were both previously convicted drug dealers with prison time behind them. As directors of Elev8 Civils and Utilities Ltd, they helped organised crime flourish across the country.
Hiring others on a job-by-job basis to help with illegally diverting electricity across the country, they targeted buildings that could be discreetly converted into large-scale UK cannabis farms filled with thousands of plants.
However, the cannabis farm electricity theft began to unravel when concerned Welsh residents reported suspicious activity around an abandoned department store. Police raids revealed over 1,000 plants growing in rooms heated and lit by electricity illegally abstracted from the high street.
Police uncovered more than 100 cannabis farms in the UK controlled by organised crime groups with direct links to Albanian gangs. This cannabis farm electricity theft is a disturbing reminder of how electricity theft operations aren’t simply about cutting costs – they can be part of a chain that fuels drugs, human trafficking, and exploitation.
At one property in Wales, officers found two Albanian men hiding in the loft who claimed to be victims of human trafficking. Most of the farms were gardened by Albanian nationals who said they had been trafficked to the UK.
During the investigation, it was discovered that the gang stole £253,980 worth of electricity, fuelling the production of cannabis worth at least £21 million.
Electricity Theft: The Risks and Impact
James Allison, Senior Crown Prosecutor with the Crown Prosecution Service’s Mersey-Cheshire’s Complex Casework Unit, said: “The work they did to divert the electricity was described by a professional electrical inspector as poor and often dangerous.”
Diverting electricity isn’t just illegal, it’s life-threatening. One image found on Roberts' phone even showed him with a singed and injured face, apparently caused after a cable they were cutting into blew up. A concerned resident also filmed small explosions as the gang dug into electricity cables on a street in Middlesbrough.
Detective Chief Inspector Zoe Russo said the explosions caused by their illegal actions 'highlights the real dangers' they posed both to themselves and to the public.
Shocks, burns, appliances becoming ‘live’ to the touch, and even electrical fires are all possible outcomes of cannabis farm electricity theft – and innocent lives are often in the firing line. Diverting electricity may seem like a minor crime to some people, but these men put entire residential streets and communities at risk, to profit from drugs.
To learn more about how criminals steal electricity, read our comprehensive guide here.
If you suspect electricity theft, report it 100% anonymously to Stay Energy Safe. We won’t ask who you are, we don’t see your phone number and your IP address is scrambled, so the information you pass on can never be traced back to you,
The Court Case and Sentencing
The gang’s downfall came after years of police work.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS)’s case against the men spanned a period of three years and encompassed 54 instances where the gang were illegally diverting electricity to cannabis farms up and down the country. They described the men as “professional enablers” of organised crime.
At Liverpool Crown Court, Judge David Potter said all the defendants were “driven by greed”. In total, the electricity theft sentencing added up to over 28 years in prison. Ross McGinn, 33, wiped away tears as he was jailed for five years, four months, and Andrew Roberts, 42, was sentenced to six years behind bars.
Graham Roberts, 47, was jailed for five years, three months for his key role as the jointer responsible for splicing and connecting live cables.
Greg Black, 29, Aidan Doran, 28, and Lewin Charles, 22, all pleaded guilty to encouraging and assisting an offence and conspiracy to abstract electricity and were sentenced to between two years and three years, nine months. Jack Sherry, 20, was sentenced to a one year and 10 months’ detention and training order, suspended for 18 months, as well as 100 hours of unpaid work.
Colin White, 62, was jailed for two years, six months after pleading guilty to conspiracy to steal and encouraging or assisting the abstraction of electricity.
James Allison, Senior Crown Prosecutor with the Crown Prosecution Service’s Mersey-Cheshire’s Complex Casework Unit, said: “They no doubt thought they would get away with their criminal operation, but they were wrong and are now behind bars.”
Reporting energy theft is everyone’s responsibility. As this case shows, organised crime operates all over the UK, sometimes right in front of us. Criminals illegally diverting electricity count on people not spotting the signs and not asking questions.
Keep your loved ones and community safe from gangs like these. Learn to spot and prevent energy theft here.
Criminal gangs often pose as utility workers to commit energy theft. Always check your council website or contact them to see if the street works have been authorised.
If a permit is not in place, report the unauthorised workers or unusual activity near power cables to Stay Energy Safe.
Fill out our online form or call our team on 0800 023 2777. Reporting is 100% anonymous, always. We won’t ever ask who you are, we don’t see your phone number or track your IP address. We just want to know what you know. Speak up. Stay energy safe.