An organised crime group behind a £20m scam to defraud major retailers out of goods has been exposed thanks to Greater Manchester Police.
Operation Component was launched by Greater Manchester Police’s Fraud Investigation Unit in 2009 to target a criminal network suspected of fraudulently hijacking the corporate identities of fast food giant McDonalds and Greggs the bakery.
By setting up bogus email addresses but using the names of genuine employees of both firms, they were able to fraudulently obtain credit and millions of pounds worth of goods from a number of major suppliers.
They ordered goods and arranged for them to be delivered to addresses in Manchester, Stockport and Cheshire, where the goods were collected but never paid for. Only a fraction of the goods fraudulently stolen have ever been recovered.
In total, 13 companies fell victim to the scam, recording losses of around £3m. As many as 80 companies were embroiled in the conspiracy but a number of them sensed something was amiss and cancelled the orders, otherwise the total losses would have been just short of £20m.
One of the firms scammed was Celltec Limited that, as a result of recording losses of over £400,000 because of the criminal actions of this gang, went into liquidation and 40 employees were made redundant.
Read the full story from Greater Manchester Police
Councils gain new powers to address empty high street shops 
Handforth retailer outperforms market 
Stockport Council is supporting Small Business Saturday