A West Cumbrian man who masterminded a plot to attack county cashpoints is back behind bars after flouting a court order — by possessing cutting tools.
Maurice Smith, 60, led a gang of crooks who were brought to book in 2019 after dedicated detectives smashed an audacious criminal conspiracy which ran for around a year.
One ATM was snatched and a host of others in towns across north and West Cumbria were the subject of dramatic failed attacks.
Gang members carried out reconnaissance before a tractor and digger were stolen and used to ram shops as the villains tried to plunder cashpoint takings during brazen smash-and-grab raids.
Smith admitted conspiracy to steal and was jailed for four years by a judge who handed down prison terms totalling almost four decades to eight gang members.
Smith, from Dearham, was also slapped with a serious crime prevention order with strict conditions attached in a bid to protect the public from any further criminal offending by him. A judge ordered Smith’s order to run for five years following his release from custody.
But Carlisle Crown Court heard today that he breached the order seven times after coming to the attention of police in late November.
On five occasions he failed to provide valid insurance documents — as required — after he was linked to four vehicles. He was also found in possession of an angle grinder and other cutting tools which the SCPO banned him from owning.
Prosecutor Tim Evans said Smith, a man with 67 offences to his name including many burglaries, drug supply and throwing contraband into a prison could properly be described as a career criminal.
Smith admitted the breaches but claimed the tools belonged to someone else.
Judge Guy Mathieson imposed a 12-month immediate prison sentence, concluding the breaches had been a learning curve as Smith sought to comply with the order and was seeking to do better.
But Judge Mathieson told him: “The problem is that if these matters (breaches) are noted by police there is a belief, whether justified or not, that you may well be up to no good all over again.”
