Cash machine raid officer jailed

A policeman has been jailed for masterminding a series of raids on cash machines on Tyneside.

Suspended Northumbria Police officer Jason Singh, who was based in South Shields, was the ringleader of a gang targeting machines in Gateshead.

Newcastle Crown Court heard he had turned to crime to feed his £600-a-week cocaine habit.

The 24-year-old, from Dunston, admitted two charges of conspiracy to steal and was sentenced to six years in prison.

Passing sentence, Judge Esmond Faulks, said: "You were at the time a serving police officer.

"You have let everybody down, not just yourself and your family, but the general public and the police whose reputation for integrity and honesty you have tarnished."

Singh, a promising footballer, joined the police after his career with Newcastle United ended when he was released at 18.

Tony Hawks, defending Singh, said: "Once he started out as a police officer he found he couldn't cope.

"He couldn't do his job properly and he fell back into his life of mixing with the wrong people and taking drugs."

The offences involved in the charge included a raid at a petrol station ATM in Dunston on November 2005, which netted £13,000 and two attempted strikes on other garages in the area in December.

He was arrested following a complex undercover investigation carried out by Northumbria Police, which had become concerned about the people he was associating with.

Singh appeared in court with his brother Craig, 20, of Ryde Terrace, Dunston.

'Total policing'

Also in court were: Mark MacDonald, 26, of Chelsea Gardens, Deckham; Shane Faife, 25, of Curzon Street, Bensham; Justin Brown, 28, of Fernlough, Windy Nook; Joseph McDonald, 27, of Colegate, Leam Lane, all Gateshead, and Peter Chisholm, 27, of Deerbush, West Denton, Newcastle.

They pleaded guilty to conspiracy to steal on the day their trial was due to begin, and received sentences ranging from 12-months to four and a half years.

Detective Chief Constable David Warcup said of Singh: "It is extremely rare for a police officer to become involved in offences as serious as this.

"I take satisfaction from the knowledge that when something like this does occur we have the systems in place to identify and dealt with it effectively.

"Total policing is about tackling criminals at all levels, whoever they are."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/tyne/6264111.stm