Complex detective work recognised at Wiltshire Police awards 2019

Operation Liveoak was launched after the discovery of a massive cannabis factory in an old nuclear bunker at RGHQ Chilmark.

READ MORE: Police heroes recognised at winter awards ceremony

The factory was capable of producing an estimated £2m-worth of cannabis a year, with the crop cultivated by young Vietnamese workers locked inside the bunker.

Police at the scene of the cannabis factory at RGHQ Chilmark Picture: SALISBURY JOURNAL

The commendation read: “This award was presented in acknowledgement of the outstanding teamwork and professionalism shown throughout this case.”

Detectives on Operation Meteor succeeded in bringing down Wiltshire’s most prolific paedophile, Peter Daniels.

The Salisbury man was handed six life sentences in February 2019.

Peter Daniels Picture: WILTSHIRE POLICE

Wiltshire Police bosses said: “The Op Meteor team’s dedication to bringing offenders like Daniels to justice and helping protect the most vulnerable children in society is an embodiment of force values and a credit to the force.”

Sala probe

The force’s investigation into the leaking of mortuary images of football player Emiliano Sala was picked out for two awards.

Det Sgt Ian Magrath of the Digital Investigations and Intelligence Unit came away with the outstanding teamwork award. The investigation was also put forward for a commendation.

Op Zagros was the name given to the investigation.

The Zagros mountains is a range that stretches from Iran and Iraq to Turkey’s southern coast.

Rather like walkers tackling the range, detectives on the Sala case faced an uphill struggle.

Scrutiny from public and press was unending. The unit handed the case, the DIIU, was just a few months old.

Despite the difficulties, the unit scored its first major success when CCTV firm workers Sherry Bray and Christopher Ashford were jailed in September for illegally accessing security cameras to watch parts of Cardiff City footballer Emiliano Sala’s post-mortem.

What was the case about?

Sala, 28, had just signed for Cardiff City when the plane he was travelling in crashed into the English Channel, north of Guernsey, on January 21.

His body was recovered on February 6 and a post-mortem examination took place at Bournemouth Mortuary the following day.

That morning, Sherry Bray had become aware of a growing police presence around the mortuary.

Bray was a director at Corsham firm CSS, which held the contract to monitor CCTV systems at the Bournemouth Mortuary every night.

At 2.26pm she messaged co-worker Christopher Ashford, a man who by his own admission had a morbid interest in forensic science.

“Nice one on the table for you to watch when you are next in,” she told him.

They both viewed the video.

When Bray became aware that an image from the post-mortem was circulating online, she messaged Ashford in a panic and announced her intention to delete the footage of the autopsy from CSS’s systems.

Bray tried to delete two images of Mr Sala’s body from her phone, but police were able to recover the pictures from her deleted items folder together with an image taken of the autopsy of Andrew Latcham, who took his own life in 2017.

Bray was jailed for 14 months. Ashford was sentenced to five months’ imprisonment.

'Hard work'

In a citation, Wiltshire Police chiefs wrote: “The case attracted significant global media interest and the team had to maintain regular contact with a range of stakeholders and interested parties – including the Sala family who live in Argentina.

“The team’s hard work resulted in both defendants pleading guilty and they were subsequently jailed for their involvement in the case.”

The commendation for investigating officer Det Sgt Magrath added: “The dedication and handling of this case’s sensitivities showed the investigation team in the best possible light, demonstrating their specialist skills, expertise and value to Wiltshire Police.”