Officers have not held back after Samuel Walmsley and his fellow gang members were jailed (Picture: Lancashire Police)
A smug criminal’s decision to film himself bragging about all of his illegally obtained cash has somewhat backfired.
Samuel Walmsley arrogantly laughed in videos alongside his fellow gang members as they counted out hundreds of pounds of illicit money and showed off bank cards.
The 20-year-old also posed for photos with cash and brazenly filmed his co-defendant in a stolen van on Snapchat, describing it as a ‘good night’s work’.
But now he is one of 14 men who have been locked away for a combined 50 years for their part in crime conspiracies, including burglaries, drug importation and vehicle thefts.
After he was sentenced, Lancashire Police taunted Walmsley, by sharing a picture of him holding up money alongside another one of his mugshot.
Officers used the popular social media caption of ‘how it started’ vs ‘how it’s going’ to poke fun at him.
They also said it was not his ‘brightest idea’ in the post on Twitter, which sarcastically describes the investigation that led to the gang’s downfall.
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‘It wasn’t too difficult,’ police joked over the incriminating videos found on Walmsley’s phone after he was arrested.
The footage implicated him in the supply of cocaine and cannabis
Police later found videos of the gang trolling a community Facebook group post showing them breaking into a car and laughing, saying: ‘That’s me in the boot.’
‘Something tells us they aren’t laughing now,’ cops added.
Lancashire Police’s Twitter post about Walmsley shows him showing off stolen cash – and the second picture is his mugshot (Picture: Lancashire Police / SWNS)
Walmsley was jailed for two years and four months for conspiracy to commit burglary and conspiracy to steal a motor vehicle at Preston Crown Court.
The police investigation into the gang began when an Audi car carrying Walmsley and Noah Mulligan, 21, failed to stop and later crashed in Great Harwood on October 7 last year.
Two men managed to escape but Walmsley and Mulligan were arrested on suspicion of going equipped after a number of tools associated with burglary were recovered.
Following enquiries, a warrant was executed at a house belonging to Jordan Whittam, 20, where £1,200 of cannabis in individual deals was recovered.
Walmsley, 20, showing off cash in a still recovered from his phone (Picture: Lancashire Police / SWNS)
A telephone was seized, which contained messages related to drug dealing.
But Whittam had also used the device to either implicate himself or his co-defendants in different burglaries – and to film his large amounts of money.
Photos and videos recovered from Walmsley’s phone implicated him in being involved in the supply of cocaine and cannabis – he regularly took photographs of himself with large amounts of money.
Speaking following the sentencing of the 14 men, DS Stu Peall, of the force’s East Exploitation Team, said they had ‘mocked’ hard-working residents with their videos.
A still from a video on Samuel Walmsley’s phone shows him holding a huge wad of cash (Picture: Lancashire Police / SWNS)
He said: ‘These defendants caused a great deal of misery in Great Harwood and surrounding areas, exploiting some of the most vulnerable members of society for pure greed.
‘Some even thought it appropriate to capture their criminal activities on film and brazenly mock hard-working members of society.
‘This significant policing operation has led to separate OCGs operating in the same town being dismantled and its members put before the courts.
‘I hope the outcome of this case sends a strong message that Lancashire Police will not tolerate criminal activity of any kind and put those who wish to engage in it before the courts.’
Walmsley has been jailed (Picture: Lancashire Police / SWNS)
The operation was part of Operations Warrior and Defender, Lancashire Police and Crime Commissioner Andrew Snowden’s fighting crime plan priority of disrupting and dismantling organised crime and robustly and pro-actively tackling burglary.
Mr Snowden said: ‘This is a fantastic result and credit to the hard work and dedication of the Constabulary’s officers.
‘Organised crime gangs are a blight on society as they bring fear, violence, drugs and exploitation into Lancashire and I would encourage anyone who has any information to come forward and report it to the police or anonymously to independent charity Crimestoppers.’
‘Not his brightest idea…’
