Skip to playerSkip to main contentSkip to footer
Emergency TV Shows
  • 2 days ago
Special.Ops.To.Catch.a.Criminal.S02E02
Transcript
00:00I'm pleased with the emergency.
00:07Elite investigative units charged with tackling the most complex of crimes.
00:12Tracing cryptocurrency is much harder than anything I've ever investigated.
00:16We shared information with law enforcement agencies internationally.
00:20Tracking down the guilty.
00:21They are clever.
00:22And they're dangerous.
00:23The male's got several stab wounds to his leg and foot one in his chest.
00:27You can see the terror in his eyes.
00:29To bring them to justice.
00:30For a second we thought he was getting away with it.
00:33Get him wrong, run him now.
00:35With inside access to the UK's most skilled detectives.
00:38We spend years putting together all of these tiny pieces of evidence.
00:42We follow their toughest cases.
00:44They're real, who did it?
00:46Reveal their unique methods.
00:48We found blood on the beige jacket.
00:50And the vital evidence.
00:52This was gold dust for us.
00:53That puts Britain's most hardened criminals.
00:56Behind bars.
00:58It's about time we started hitting them where it hurts.
01:05Behind the rural backdrop of the beautiful Essex countryside, lurks a clandestine group entrenched in the illegal and barbaric sport of dogfighting.
01:15What we have are organised criminal gangs that are obsessed and actively involved in fighting dogs.
01:22It's the network of animal abuse on a global level.
01:26Fight the bunny!
01:27Fight the bunny!
01:28Fight the bunny!
01:29Fight the bunny!
01:30Country to country people are looking for competitors.
01:33A Bulgarian fighting dog might have to go to Russia and Moldova and Romania to be able to find appropriate competition.
01:40Headed up by a known criminal.
01:42The authorities knew that individual had an element of violence about their behaviour.
01:48That person had been actively involved in dogfighting for decades.
01:52Training dogs to fight to the death.
01:55It's determined by the dog that is still alive at the end or a dog that can't fight any longer.
02:00Only the lucky few survived this horrific ordeal.
02:04She had a lot of scars around her chest, quite a few deep ones on her legs and bits around her ears and head.
02:11One particular operation, we're trying to breed different types of dogs to make the ultimate fighting dog.
02:17Between 2015 and 2020, the RSPCA received more than 9,000 reports of organised dogfighting.
02:33My name is Ian and I'm currently the head of the RSPCA Special Operations Unit.
02:38We've seen a 35% increase in dogfighting reports to us over the last four years.
02:43But because of its clandestine nature, it still remains extremely difficult to investigate.
02:50August 2021, the RSPCA receive a call from a concerned member of the public
02:56who suspects that a dog is suffering abuse in the affluent town of Chigwell.
03:02So a complaint comes in from a member of the public about dog beating.
03:05And that was dispatched to one of our animal rescue officers to go and investigate.
03:10So he attended the address.
03:13He explained to the dog owner that he was there investigating a beating complaint.
03:17And the dog owner then, quite freely, allowed him access to his backyard.
03:22The officer starts to make a detailed inspection, looking for any signs of cruelty.
03:27He's got a kennel set up there with a number of bull terrier, bull breed type dogs.
03:32So our ARO, he's looking at them, asking them about this beating.
03:36And the dog owner is dismissing it.
03:38Clearly the dogs look okay-ish.
03:40But then he starts to notice they've got some scarring on the faces.
03:44So he asks what that's from, and he says that's from running through brambles,
03:48which you see that in working dogs.
03:52So things like lurchers who go out and work deer and things like that.
03:56They will often get bramble scratches, but not these times.
04:01But scarring is also a telltale sign of the savage sport of dogfighting.
04:05Dogfighting is an activity that's been around since Roman times and outlawed in Britain in the 1830s.
04:15And it's been illegal ever since.
04:17However, it's still attractive to a minority of people in this country at this time.
04:24Prior to joining this particular department, I believe that dogfighting doesn't really happen anymore.
04:28And sadly, that's not the case.
04:30My name's Ian. I'm a Chief Inspector with the RSPCA Special Operations Unit.
04:34Our unit investigates organized animal cruelty, including dogfighting.
04:38Those who choose to get involved in dogfighting know that it's illegal.
04:41So they go to great lengths to try and conceal their activities.
04:45What we have are organized criminal gangs that are obsessed and actively involved in fighting dogs.
04:53You see these dogs, they live in kennels.
04:55You know, they come out, they go on a treadmill.
04:57They've got an A-frame or a spring pull in the back garden.
05:00That's as far as they'll get until they're put in a crate and take it to wherever they're going to fight.
05:04And that's their sole existence.
05:09The RSPCA officer doesn't buy the owner's explanation for the dog's scratches.
05:14He looks for any other clues that could point to illegal dogfighting.
05:18He notices next to the kennels a dog treadmill.
05:22Not like the treadmills you would see in a gym that we would use.
05:25These are purpose-built dog treadmills used in dogfighting.
05:29Now, he didn't let on about the treadmills and he managed to extricate himself from the property
05:35without alerting the dog owner to his suspicions.
05:37Fearing for the safety of these dogs, the officer immediately alerts the Special Operations Unit,
05:45passing over the name and the address of the individual involved.
05:49We knew that that person had been actively involved in dogfighting for decades.
05:55And he was a man in his mid-sixties, father of two, living in a semi-detached house in Essex.
06:01He had a history involving serious violence and serious offending.
06:05He was someone involved with keeping dogs for a long period of time,
06:08but always working dogs and dogs used for this type of activity.
06:14We know from historical investigations that the dogs will be fought in a clandestine environment,
06:18so somewhere very hidden away on a pre-arranged basis,
06:21and individuals will attend to watch that dogfight.
06:25The purses for winning the fight can be significant sums of money,
06:28so several thousands of pounds.
06:32I've heard up to 50,000 euros potentially being put on one dogfight.
06:37My name's Mark and I was a police officer for a number of years,
06:40predominantly working on undercover investigations.
06:43More recently, I've been working on animal-based investigation
06:46and dogfighting is one of those.
06:49The more fights a dog wins, the more valuable they become.
06:53They're awarded the title of champion after three victories
06:57and grand champion after five.
07:00If your dog is a grand champion
07:01and it produces half a dozen potentially good fighting dogs,
07:05then they've got value and then you've got stud fees which have got value
07:09and then their offspring have got value.
07:11So, yes, it's prize fighting,
07:12but it's actually a financial business in its own right.
07:16Look it up, come on.
07:17Look it up, come on.
07:19They will operate under a kennel name.
07:22For want of a better word, that's their brand,
07:24and they will have a number of dogs within their kennel setup.
07:28And generally, they're the pit bull type dog,
07:31and the reason they choose the pit bull is because of its ability to fight,
07:35its ability to withstand pain and suffering and its stamina.
07:38There will be a referee who will oversee the fight and always in an organized dogfight,
07:44it will be the same sex, so two male dogs or two female dogs.
07:48The opportunity to apprehend dogfighters is a top priority for the Special Operations Unit.
07:55We'd had dealings with the dog owner on numerous occasions,
07:59but then he'd gone quiet for a number of years and it transpired that he was actually in prison.
08:04In fact, the dog owner had been serving ten years for attempted murder.
08:08Generally, we've found that the people who are involved in dogfighting,
08:12they have a leaning towards violence.
08:15I haven't seen many examples of them not being involved in other serious crime,
08:19and generally crimes of violence.
08:21So it could well be drugs, it could be firearms, it could be domestic abuse,
08:25it could be child abuse.
08:26Because if you see dogfighting, there will always be something else present.
08:29Head of the Special Operations Unit Ian's biggest concern is that this man has returned to the world of dogfighting.
08:38And as an experienced criminal, building a case against him is going to be a challenge.
08:44We know who this guy is, we know what he's involved in,
08:47and this is an opportunity to try and ascertain who were his associates.
08:51Operation Ghaul is launched.
08:54Determined to put an end to the ringleader's participation in dogfighting,
08:59the Special Ops team are under pressure to gather the evidence they need.
09:04Timing is critical.
09:06All the time we're investigating these people, they continue to carry out their activities.
09:11However, we have to get it right.
09:13If we intervene too early, we disrupt them, but they'll just start again.
09:18So what we need to do is get as comprehensive a file of evidence as we can to try and intervene permanently.
09:25Working covertly and using intel they've collected over the years,
09:29they commence an intense period of intelligence gathering.
09:33We will take information from its rawest form and develop that through to search warrant applications.
09:39Our team operates across the country, working closely with partner agencies such as the police and charities
09:46to identify individuals involved in organised animal cruelty.
09:49It takes seven months of intense investigation, piecing together the evidence and gathering further intel around his involvement in dogfighting.
10:00The RSPCA Special Operations Unit are ready to make their move.
10:05The information indicated that this individual had the right types of dogs at the address, had the right types of equipment at the address.
10:14All of these things indicated that he was potentially involved in dogfighting.
10:17And that was enough for us to go to the police in order to get a search warrant.
10:2314th of March 2022.
10:26There's no dogs in this part of the garden.
10:28The Special Operations Unit searched the property.
10:31Kennel A, does have a dog in it.
10:35She's got a black and white male bull type dog.
10:42A warrant execution is a stressful situation, so it's never calm, but generally he was compliant.
10:50And this is Kennel B.
10:51This is a tan, a white male bull type.
10:58Again, got some scarring on the body of this one.
11:01The Special Operations Unit's first priority is the welfare of the dogs.
11:06So there was two dogs found in kennels at the rear of the address.
11:11Interestingly, one of the dogs that had been seen previously by the ARO back in August was no longer there.
11:16The two dogs that were there were Dottie and Oscar, both male bull breeds with significant scarring.
11:23He's got some scarring around his face, I can see, and legs.
11:27If the dog's carrying injuries, they're seized.
11:30The dog is then identified through video and photographs, and then he's removed individually and taken for veterinary examination.
11:38With the dog safely in the hands of the RSPCA, the search continues.
11:43Just walking into this room here.
11:47There was some treadmills, and then all of the other paraphernalia that we would attribute to someone involved in dogfighting.
11:53So things like breaking sticks, flirt poles, training paraphernalia, and a comprehensive veterinary kit.
12:01The officers uncover some more evidence within the house.
12:05A mobile phone was situated in the kitchen area, and the ringleader said he didn't know who this phone belonged to.
12:11Dogfighting networks are commonly controlled via phones, but high-tech privacy settings are designed to defeat even the best equipped of investigators.
12:21We recovered a mobile phone. We didn't have a PIN number for it. So the question was, how can we get into it?
12:27How can we get into it?
12:35Walking through here, we've got black and white male bull-type dog. He's got some scarring around his face, like I can see, and legs.
12:46The Special Operations Unit of the RSPCA have seized dogs, equipment, and a mobile phone from a known dogfighter in Essex.
12:56So we've got a treadmill here, it's powered, a trip right to there, not on this chain.
13:07It was very clear that this was a set-up consistent with organised dogfighting, and the types of dogs at the address were also of the type involved in organised dogfighting.
13:17They suspect the dog owner could be the ringleader of an illegal dogfighting network, and he's been on their radar for decades.
13:29In my experience, the general motivation is a bloodlust for watching animals attacking each other, and then it becomes an obsession around the training and conditioning of a dog.
13:43Head of Operations, Ian, is battling to finally bring the ringleader and his associates to justice.
13:50We had evidence of him exercising the dogs, training them. He wouldn't reveal the PIN number for his phone. He tried to deny it was his phone.
13:58Without the PIN or biometrics, the phone is impossible for them to crack.
14:03The phone then goes into a forensic recovery specialist who will give all of the recoverable data from that phone to the investigation team to review.
14:13Meanwhile, specialist forensic vets examine the two dogs seized at the property, Dotty and Oscar, looking for evidence of injuries consistent with dogfighting.
14:24A lot of the injuries we see are around the head, the chest and the forelegs, generally because of the way they fight head on.
14:31And these can be really deep lacerations.
14:34So once the dog gets a hold, it takes a really strong grip of its opponent and then it will shake.
14:40And that causes lots of tissue damage, deep lacerations.
14:44But the worst injuries are the ones you don't see.
14:48It's the damage underneath the skin that generally tends to kill them.
14:52They were able to identify a large number of varying age scars across both Dotty and Oscar.
14:58And incidents of multiple counts of those dogs being fought with other dogs.
15:03And that evidence is crucial.
15:06One of the worst scenes that I've looked at, and I've seen that kind of thing a few times,
15:10a dog literally running into fight with both of its knees on the ground and not prepared to give up.
15:17Clearly it was in the last throes of death, but it was still going into fight because that's what its owner wanted it to do.
15:24Dogfighting at an organized top level is all about status.
15:28So your reputation is fueled by your dog's ability to win.
15:33Dogfighters really are impacted when their dog loses.
15:37There's a huge amount of ego involved.
15:40If a dog looks like it's starting to shy away from its opponent, a scratch will be called.
15:45The dogs are taken to the corners, and then the dog that was shying away is released while the other one is held temporarily.
15:52And that's to assess whether the dog is still game.
15:57So game describes the animal's willingness to fight.
16:00So how brave it is, how tenacious it is.
16:03And if the dog goes back to fight again, then they'll carry on.
16:06It could go on for four hours, this.
16:08So there could be a bit of a fight.
16:10They could be pulled apart.
16:11They could be put back together again.
16:13And they'll keep going up until the point when either one of the owners throws the towel in, withdraws their dog, or one dies.
16:22Woo-hoo!
16:25Often the dogs, even when they come through the fight, will go into shock and die, despite the best efforts of the owners to try and keep them alive.
16:33Dogs can be horrifically injured and then euthanized at the end of a fight in the most brutal ways, because it's no longer of any use to them.
16:40So sadly the dogs are just a by-product of human enjoyment of animal use.
16:47But if the dogfighter believes a dog has more wins in it, they will go to extremes to patch it up after a fight.
16:54They can't take them to the vet because of the nature of the injuries, and they don't want to be detected.
17:00So we have certain dogfighters who will administer veterinary care, and they will try and keep the dog alive, particularly if it's the winner.
17:08It's shocking to see how little regard is given for any of these animals.
17:12Paraphernalia recovered from the ringleader's house could prove vital evidence.
17:20There was a number of brake sticks found.
17:22Brake sticks are used in a dogfight to release a dog when it gets fanged on its own lip, or when it gets fanged into another dog's lip and can't release its bite.
17:30The brake stick will be placed in between its teeth in some place where it can get a purchase, and then is twisted and is levered.
17:38And that's what causes these bite marks and scratch marks on there.
17:41As soon as the dog's jaws are loose, you can take your dog to your scratch line and start again.
17:46It's a vital piece of equipment found at dogfighting venues.
17:51Crucially, the officers also seized equipment known to be used by dogfighting groups to train dogs.
17:57The training techniques are intense, to say the least. A lot of these dogs become so conditioned, a bit like an athlete.
18:03We found both an electric treadmill and a slap mill.
18:07The slap mill being self-propelled, so the dog can actually go on it and it propels it through its own legs.
18:13And an electric treadmill, which is where it's set to a speed and the dog has to keep up to that.
18:20The specialist equipment helps build a case that the ringleader trained animals for fights.
18:25But there's nothing yet to connect him to meeting up with other dogfighters for matches.
18:31So, if we prosecute somebody for starving a dog, you've got your starved dog, that's your evidence.
18:37If we're trying to show someone was present at a dogfight in France, how are we going to do that?
18:42It is tricky.
18:43Ian and his team try to find a trail that connects Dottie and Oscar directly to fights.
18:51In the house, two pet passports were recovered that showed that the dogs had either been or were travelling to and from Ireland.
18:57In France, we see different aspects of international crossover to dogfight, so particularly Southern Ireland, Northern Ireland, investigations of identified individuals from Spain and France.
19:08But also, significantly, we see people travelling to South America to visit dogfighters in that part of the world.
19:13Accessing the mobile phone retrieved from the ringleader's house might provide crucial evidence that the ringleader and his associates have attended international dogfights.
19:27In the world of dogfighting, many people like to boast and gloat about their victories.
19:33I'm Matt Lee, I'm a local reporter who works for Essex Live, covering general news all the way across the county.
19:40So, within a phone that is linked to a potential participant, investigators would be possibly expecting to find video or photos that could be key evidence in their investigation.
19:52The digital specialist deciphered the pin for the phone.
19:58Interestingly, that mobile phone was subsequently found to have the year of birth as a pin number for the ringleader.
20:05And also, the same name on the email address as the ringleader once that phone was forensically downloaded.
20:11The investigating officer is hoping that that would be the gold-level evidence to be able to really nail someone as having committed a crime.
20:18But it appears the ringleader has been trying to cover his tracks.
20:23Unfortunately for them, a lot of that video had been deleted.
20:27But now, with the onset digital media, the positives of that are that there is often a digital trace left in that world that allows us to identify things that perhaps we wouldn't have previously known about.
20:37What they did still have were the thumbnail evidence.
20:41So, whilst they weren't able to see the video in its entirety, they were able to see from the still images that there had been dogs fighting each other.
20:49And also, they found encrypted secure messages where the ringleader had been planning and organizing fights.
20:56Opening up that phone uncovered a treasure trove of evidence and intelligence around his dog fighting activities.
21:05It was a massive breakthrough.
21:06And Olivia's matched in February.
21:10Not for no money, but what can you do?
21:12The fight's better than nothing.
21:14I'll speak to you later.
21:15All set, the bitch is looking well.
21:23She's going to be light, about 37 and a bit panned.
21:26But that's okay.
21:27You know what I haven't got?
21:28I've got no IV fluids.
21:29I've got the IVs.
21:30When you come round, can you bring two with you?
21:32Because I've got a few ones.
21:34That we're going into.
21:36You can't get none.
21:37I said, oh, we'll supply it.
21:38But please, God, we won't have to give it to him.
21:40Because Ricky Lee's dug through.
21:41RSPCA Special Operations Unit are investigating what could be an international underground dog fighting ring.
21:50The suspected ringleader has eluded arrest for decades.
21:54The mobile phone proved to be a goldmine of evidence associated with dog fighting.
22:01With the ringleader still free to participate in fights,
22:04officers need to identify the other key players of this dog fighting network.
22:09There was a huge amount of voice note communication via WhatsApp,
22:13as well as the use of Signal, which is a secure messaging app.
22:17When you've got evidence like voice notes,
22:20that pinpoints an exact time and an exact date that these groups of people
22:25who would be identifiable through their voices were discussing that topic.
22:29Remember I told you?
22:30You've got to use a stomach line up.
22:34No one's listening.
22:35The voice notes are quite chilling, really.
22:38In just his laid-back attitude and the way he's talking about the injuries that dogs have sustained,
22:44whether they'll survive or not, and what treatment he's going to give them.
22:48She lived all that time, and then she started throwing up,
22:51she threw the eye of a needle, because her stomach's gone and ulcerated.
22:55If he'd have used Pepto-Bismol, like I do straight away,
22:58he wouldn't have had half a chance, do you know what I mean?
23:01The ringleader had been giving the guidance on how best to treat the animals
23:06after these brutal fights.
23:08Listen, you look at all my videos, what's on the f***ing side?
23:11That Pepto-Bismol.
23:13We only give painkiller for the first three days.
23:15After three days, you don't give it to them anymore.
23:18They've got no regard, really, for the welfare or the wellbeing of any of their dogs.
23:24Recovering these messages is a major breakthrough,
23:27but the challenge is just beginning.
23:30They need to piece all the data together to locate his associates
23:34in order to dismantle the network.
23:37So this is for two of the dogs, Oscar and Dottie,
23:53which showed them being travelled around Europe.
23:56This is a pet passport that documented the dates of travel to France.
24:00We know that one of the fights took place in France
24:02and that Dottie was transported via Eurotunnel,
24:05which were consistent with the dates that the fight took place.
24:08It was crucial evidence.
24:10We have dogfighters in this country who maintain contacts
24:13with Eastern European dogfighters, Spanish dogfighters, French dogfighters and Dutch.
24:18This international network, they communicate with each other,
24:24they exchange advice and fight reports.
24:29So when our ARO had visited in August, the names of three dogs had been given.
24:34And that was Dottie, Oscar and Bonnie.
24:36And what became clear from the messages were that they had either all been fought
24:40or were being trained to be fought at that time.
24:43You're a f***ing star, my brother. And we've got some good news.
24:47Oscar's matched and so is Dottie.
24:50Oscar's matched in April and Dottie's matched six weeks after Oscar.
24:55Three grand for Oscar, five grand for Dottie.
24:59I'll tell you all about it tomorrow. Looking forward to it.
25:04Officers uncover crucial evidence in shocking match reports
25:08shared on underground dogfighting group chats.
25:11They will detail the individuals involved,
25:14the referee, the individual dogs involved,
25:17the weights of the dogs, whether they were dogs or bitches.
25:20Then the match report will go on to a detailed review of the fight,
25:25how that fight is going, how each dog is fighting.
25:28It'll then go on to talk about injuries.
25:31New legislation for dogfighting has brought in tougher sentencing
25:35and with the scale of the horror unfolding,
25:38could the ringleader be looking at a very long sentence?
25:42It became apparent that the dog, Bonnie,
25:45that had been seen previously in August 2022
25:48by our animal rescue officer
25:50had been fought in the intervening period
25:52between his visit and the warrant being executed in March.
25:56She had been fought and had sadly
25:58and had inflicted on her huge injuries that were horrific.
26:01There's a reference to the fact that she has possibly
26:03two broken front legs, loses the fight,
26:06but is given a courtesy scratch.
26:08And what that's essentially saying is
26:10that she was allowed to then continue on.
26:13Bonnie was never recovered from the ringleader's address
26:16or any of the other addresses.
26:18It's suspected that she died.
26:20Determined to bring down the dogfighting network,
26:24officers now need to find the locations and identities
26:27of the others involved in this horrific animal abuse.
26:31This phone was a goldmine of information
26:35linking others into organized dogfighting.
26:37Amongst all those photos and videos
26:39was a number of still images of dogfighting pits,
26:42and they were clearly different venues.
26:44There was a brick-built outbuilding that was quite large.
26:48There was also images of other dogs
26:50that weren't at the ringleader's address.
26:52That led us on to see if we could find
26:54where this other venue was.
26:56What became apparent through the messaging apps
26:57was that one of these photos was somewhere locally
27:01belonging to an associate.
27:03We know who operates under what kennel name
27:06and referees under nicknames and things like that.
27:09It's part of our general intelligence picture
27:11that we hold over the organized dogfighting scene.
27:14Pieced together with RSPCA intelligence,
27:17the team have identified a key member of this dogfighting gang,
27:21the referee.
27:23The referee was regularly communicating with this ringleader
27:27about another dogfight that was due to take place.
27:30One of their roles was they provided a venue,
27:32and they also had a number of dogs at their venue.
27:35So we know that they attended a fight at this location.
27:40The actual profile picture for the referee
27:43was a picture of a dog called Booty.
27:45So that small snippet of information
27:47then led us to identify this referee.
27:50He's in his mid-30s, a martial arts expert.
27:54He's also a personal trainer.
27:56The team are now closing in on exposing the identities
28:00of the other dogfighters involved in that match.
28:03There was a much wider network of individuals
28:06being coordinated or liaised with
28:08by this kingpin of dogfighting.
28:10There was a number of key pieces of information
28:13within the phone material.
28:14So we were fairly confident at this stage
28:16that we had the right people.
28:18So we go to the police to apply for a search warrant.
28:2118th of May, 2022.
28:24Nine months after the investigation started,
28:27the Special Operations Unit are ready to expose
28:30the ringleaders' associates.
28:32in a number of surprise police raids across the country,
28:35including the referee's Essex home.
28:39It was a former public house
28:41that had been converted into a residential property
28:43in quite a rural area.
28:45This is the left-hand garage.
28:47A series of metal-gauge kennels containing single dogs.
28:50The referee's address involved 16 dogs.
28:53Nine of which were bull breeds kept in a kennel building
28:57out in the side of the property.
29:00And in the corner.
29:02And then there was further dogs recovered from the house itself
29:06that were being kept in inappropriate environments
29:08or had various health issues.
29:11Going into the premises, you could see that there was an area
29:15of the outbuilding that could be sectioned off.
29:17And then you could see where there was remains of carpet on the floor
29:21and blood splatters on the walls.
29:23Straight away to an SOU officer, you can look at that
29:26and you could say, that's a dogfighting pit.
29:29Sprung a rope, hanging down.
29:31That initial eureka moment when you see the pit,
29:34that is a massive breakthrough.
29:36You know you're onto something then.
29:38There are marks on this wall.
29:41The referee and his wife are at home.
29:44Both were arrested on the day by the police.
29:47The dog business and dog care seemed to be a joint venture
29:50from what the investigation uncovered.
29:52So as a result of that, she started to factor in
29:55as being involved with her husband's activities
29:58and certainly in some way facilitating those
30:00through the keeping of a venue at the location for dogfighting.
30:0416 dogs, some of whom were in need of urgent medical attention,
30:09were rescued from the referee's house.
30:11Sadly, two needed to be euthanized.
30:15Officers hope that others can be successfully rehabilitated.
30:20So when Jane first arrived at the centre,
30:22she was very quiet, didn't really want to interact with people.
30:26My name is Claire and I'm the Behaviour and Welfare Advisor.
30:30I've worked within the RSPCA for 26 years now.
30:33So with Jane's injuries, she had a lot of scars around her chest,
30:38quite a few deep ones on her legs.
30:40She had a nasty scar right across her nose
30:43and bits around her ears and head.
30:45So it took us a little while to bring her around.
30:48We'll just take it really slow,
30:50start getting them used to things like going out in the compound,
30:53spending time with people,
30:55which could take a little while for them to get used to.
30:58For Jane and the 13 other surviving dogs,
31:02the future remains deeply uncertain.
31:05In the north-west, officers search the home of another member of the network,
31:11who has been tracked down via messaging on the ringleader's phone.
31:15They seize one dog.
31:17There was no one present at the address,
31:20but there was a large substantial veterinary kit found in the house.
31:25There was a plaque of razor blades that opened hypodermic syringes.
31:30So we used syringes at the bottom.
31:32Amongst the items that were seized were IV lines, suturing equipment,
31:37antibiotics, various stomach lining, drugs.
31:40These items were entirely consistent with a dogfighting vet kit.
31:44They will self-treat these animals,
31:46which can often kill the animals where the treatment's not being properly administered.
31:50It's these staplers.
31:52So they staple injuries and staple cuts together.
31:55Various needles.
31:57As a pet owner, it's shocking that someone gets to the point
32:00that they think that doing all of this and giving all this stuff
32:03without veterinary supervision is normal.
32:07The special operations units are under pressure to build a strong case.
32:12Each dog recovered is a potential source of evidence.
32:17So we are looking at the dogs that are on the scene,
32:20trying to compare them to photographs of dogs that we've got,
32:24which can be quite tricky,
32:25but also dogs that are carrying evidence of being involved in dogfighting.
32:30At the same time, forensic experts scrutinised the blood-stained pit
32:35found at the referee's house.
32:38We were able to get that blood analysed,
32:40and all of that data said that the blood came from at least five different dogs.
32:45So that was enough to enable us to show that that was a fighting pit
32:49and not a breeding arena.
32:52The images that were found on the ringleader's phone
32:54of two dogs fighting in a fighting pit was taken at that premises.
32:59What it allowed us to do was to build a file of evidence against a referee,
33:04the referee's wife, and the ringleader.
33:07And that evidence was comprehensive enough to satisfy our prosecutions department
33:12that there was a case to answer.
33:14After recovering 19 dogs between March and May 2022,
33:20specialist vets have forensically assessed their injuries,
33:24looking for evidence that they were the result of dogfighting.
33:28Dottie and Oscar were both removed from the premises during the warrant in March.
33:35It was established from the phone material that Dottie was one fight short of being a grand champion,
33:40and was being travelled around Europe,
33:42and was routinely becoming injured during those dogfights.
33:45And Oscar, even though he'd won a fight, he was injured quite badly,
33:49and both were matched to fight later that year for significant sums of money.
33:54Three grand for Oscar, five grand for Dottie.
33:58With many injuries and lack of proper veterinary care, Dottie and Oscar are in poor health.
34:05Sadly, the decision was taken that both of those dogs would need to be euthanized.
34:09That's not a decision that was taken lightly.
34:11However, it's a much more palatable outcome than a dog being fought to death.
34:17The Special Operations Unit continued to build a strong case.
34:20But will the new Strixer sentencing legislation mean that dogfighters could be put away for a very long time?
34:28Historically, the maximum anyone could expect for offences like this would be six months in prison.
34:33That was really no deterrent to those involved in this serious, organized aspect of dogfighting.
34:46So this is the left-hand garage series of metal-gauge kennels containing single dogs.
34:52The Special Operations Unit of the RSPCA
34:55have exposed an underground dogfighting ring.
34:58In the middle of all the dogs and his harnesses.
35:02And then the wiring scales.
35:04Officers have seized a total of 16 dogs from the referee's house.
35:09Some of whom have been trained to fight to the death.
35:12Sadly, two of these dogs could not be saved.
35:15As a result of welfare concerns, those dogs sadly had to be put to sleep with the owner's consent.
35:21Eight-year-old Jane, who was trained to attack and kill other dogs, was then bred.
35:28So she has a unique set of needs.
35:30Most dogs, they like to see other dogs and they have good experiences and it's positive for them.
35:36Whereas the dogs that are used for fighting, it's totally different.
35:41And they have really bad, negative experience.
35:44And they know that once they see another dog, they've got to get in there quick.
35:48And also it's going to be painful and a really horrendous experience for them.
35:53But fighting dogs are not trained to harm humans.
35:57It's just other dogs mainly.
35:59A lot of the time they do say the dog fighting dogs are good with people,
36:03because they have to be for pulling them off.
36:05Jane spent two years at the centre.
36:08It just depends with the rehabilitation process how long it takes.
36:12Jane was probably one of the easiest ones.
36:15They didn't really have any concerns with her.
36:17She was just a gentle old girl.
36:20One of our colleagues got to know her and really fell in love with her.
36:25Then she adopted her.
36:27So Jane's at home now with a colleague.
36:29She's got loads of footballs and toys, which she loves.
36:32She spends a lot of time out in the garden.
36:34When I last went round to visit, she was outside in the sun sunbathing.
36:39Having a lovely time.
36:41While the dogs are being rehabilitated,
36:44the Special Operations Unit have been preparing their case
36:47against the ringleader and his associates.
36:50With the opportunity for longer sentencing,
36:53they are keen to present a watertight case.
36:56This is the first Crown Court trial in relation to dog fighting
37:00since the changes in legislation that have allowed
37:02the sentencing powers to be increased.
37:05And to prepare for trial of a case of this nature and of this size
37:09with so much evidence was hugely complex.
37:13I'm hoping to get the dogs back.
37:15If I get them back, I'm going to ask to to carry on going on here with it.
37:18Obviously reschedule it, but if I get them back,
37:21it's still on as far as I'm concerned.
37:23But you don't...
37:24I can't say nothing until I know what I'm being charged with.
37:27Do you know what I mean?
37:28Certainly the ringleader was surprised.
37:31Even after the dogs had been removed from his premises,
37:35we obtained messages where he was talking about
37:38when he gets the dogs back.
37:40So, throughout, he thought he was bomb-proof.
37:44He never thought that he was going to end up in court.
37:47We've got tickets that we can't get our money back,
37:50but we can reschedule them.
37:51And he said he's still going to honour the fight with a bitch.
37:53She's not fighting for about six or seven weeks,
37:55so I should have settled down by then.
37:57The amount of material that was recovered from that mobile phone was huge,
38:02and there is a fairly lengthy process that's needed
38:06to be able to bring that evidence to a standard that can be utilised in court.
38:10Sometimes you look at a file and you think,
38:12the wealth of evidence we have got,
38:15how can they even consider pleading not guilty?
38:18But I think that's part of their nature.
38:21For a start, dogfighters don't feel they're doing anything wrong.
38:23The dogs enjoy it, and all they're doing is facilitating what the dogs enjoy.
38:28So, by virtue of that, they just see their activity as harmless.
38:33And I think that's partly why they would plead not guilty.
38:37Finally, after a 20-month investigation,
38:40the ringleader, the referee, his wife and two other co-conspirators
38:46arrive at Chelmsford Crown Court.
38:48Presenting this case was probably one of the hardest cases
38:53I've ever done in my entire career.
38:55There was unique pressures and unique evidence in this case,
38:59added to the fact that it was a trial before a jury.
39:02There was footage that showed in quite graphic detail
39:05some of the extreme so-called sport
39:08that these people had been inflicting on the animals.
39:11It's something that you can never really prepare yourself to see.
39:15There were blood splatters on the floor, on the walls as well,
39:19and animals viciously and violently attacking each other.
39:22But it's in bleak contrast to images of the ringleader and his associates.
39:28One of the pieces of evidence that the RSPCA obtained
39:31was a photo from a meal out that a number of members of the group were involved in.
39:35It was almost as though they were just enjoying a gentle holiday away
39:39when actually they had been travelling overseas
39:41to be able to have a really serious and violent activity
39:44and inflicting pain on animals.
39:46The trial lasted for five weeks at Crown Court,
39:50which in itself is a trial for all involved,
39:53not just the people in the dock.
39:55It's difficult for the investigators.
39:58So across the board there was convictions across all of the defendants,
40:04and that ranged from causing animal fights,
40:07keeping animals for the purpose of fighting,
40:09causing unnecessary suffering to animals,
40:11keeping a venue for an animal fight,
40:14various animal welfare offences,
40:17as well as possession of dangerous dog offences.
40:20The referee's wife was given 200 hours of unpaid work.
40:27The further defendant was given a custodial sentence
40:30of two years, six months.
40:32The referee was given a custodial sentence of four years.
40:36The ringleader was given a custodial sentence of five years,
40:40as well as a number of offences that were concurrently
40:42to run alongside that.
40:44All of these defendants got a 10-year ban on keeping dogs.
40:49You could tell from the faces of the defendants
40:52that they perhaps hadn't been realising
40:54that they were going to be spending quite as much time behind bars.
40:57Right at the very end, on sentencing,
41:00the ringleader's sons kicked off in court.
41:03It didn't take too well that his dad got five years.
41:06Dogfighting is horrific animal cruelty in its own right,
41:10and because it's so closely linked to other violent crime,
41:13that it should attract a strong sentence.
41:15It's just unacceptable within society,
41:17and it's taken 200 years to get there.
41:19So for three individuals to receive lengthy custodial sentences,
41:24including one of five years and another of four years,
41:26is hugely groundbreaking for animal welfare.
41:29This was a person who the authorities knew
41:32had an element of violence about their behaviour.
41:35When you reflect more on the severity of the treatment
41:38that they'd been inflicting on these animals,
41:41then when you take that into consideration,
41:43the sentence that they did receive was truly deserved.
41:47To have somebody who we've known of for so long,
41:49and we've, you know, suspected his activities,
41:52we knew what he was into,
41:54to finally get him into court after all those years
41:58was really, really satisfying.
42:00The significance of the ringleader's sentence
42:03has had a huge deterrent effect with individuals that are involved.
42:07A number of people have been known to get rid of dogs
42:09that they were keeping for fighting,
42:11and have stopped being involved in that sport,
42:13and long may that continue.
42:15I think it's really nice to see Jane in her new home,
42:20thinking what she's come from and what she's been through,
42:22and being able to find that perfect home for her
42:25is just amazing.
42:27Now she's in her garden enjoying her life, so it's lovely.
42:45She is like,
42:47and I'm going to be able to find her own language.
42:48At the time of her 2,
42:49she's in her garden very much.
42:50And with her, the natural environment,
42:51she doesn't care about her.
42:52Now she's in her garden,
42:54she's in her garden.
42:55She has moved her garden.
42:57And with her, she can come from her home,
42:59but it's lovely to see her garden.
43:02I think it's a very nice moment.
43:04It's lovely to see her garden,
43:06and it's for her garden,
43:08and it really doesn't really look like,
43:10and it is so lovely.
43:11I've always been to see her garden
43:12and with her garden in her home.