Three convicted of £159,000 mortgage fraud after cannabis raid

The deception only came to light after officers acting on intelligence uncovered a large number of cannabis plants and seven people were subsequently arrested. While evidential reasons mean that no charges were brought relating to the drug possession, three people were charged with conspiracy to obtain a mortgage by deception after a complex financial inquiry.

Adviser Louise Butler from Barry, South Wales, Mark Fowles from Birmingham and John Cope from Bristol have all pleaded guilty. All escaped an immediate custodial sentence, although Butler and Fowles were hit with a 10-month term suspended for a year and Cope and Fowles were ordered to undertake community service. Butler was also issued with a supervision order.

The basis of the fraud charge was that Butler and Fowles, in an effort to avoid taxation costs, approached Cope and offered him £5,000 to allow them to use his personal details when making the application for a mortgage. He agreed and Butler then used her position as a financial adviser to process the relevant papers through the mortgage lender. The repayments were made by Fowles via bank accounts held by Cope to hide the true origin of the funds.

Chief Inspector Phil Haynes, who oversees policing in the Forest of Dean, said: "This investigation started out to be a relatively straight forward drugs operation and it was very effectively dealt with by the Safer Community Team and PC Sleeman, one of our County Council Funded Officers.

"However, as can happen with these cases, it then diverted into a case of financial fraud and was managed in conjunction with our Economic Crime Unit."