Gang convicted of coaching and preventing dogs throughout Europe – RSPCA

Three males and one lady had been all convicted by a jury on Wednesday for a string of offences following a four-week trial at Chelmsford Crown Court, which began on 4 March.

Phillip Ali – referred to within the canine preventing world as Dr Death, of Essex, was discovered responsible of 10 offences below the Animal Welfare Act 2006, together with 4 offences of preserving and/or coaching a canine to be used in a combat, and two of inflicting a combat.

Billy Leadley – who’s often known as GSK, of Essex, entered a responsible plea to 1 offence – of inflicting pointless struggling to a canine by failing to supply veterinary therapy for an harm to the canine’s tail – part-way by way of the trial.

The jury additionally discovered him responsible of an additional 9 offences below the Animal Welfare Act 2006; together with preserving a premises to be used in preventing, collaborating in a combat by refereeing, and preserving and/or coaching a canine to be used in a canine combat.

Billy’s spouse, Amy Leadley additionally of Essex, was discovered responsible of three offences, below the Animal Welfare Act 2006, together with preserving a premises to be used in preventing.

Stephen Albert Brown of Essex, was discovered responsible of 5 offences, together with three of preserving and/or coaching a canine to be used in an animal combat.

At the tip of the trial, Amy Leadley entered a responsible plea to 1 offence of failing to satisfy the wants of seven dogs of their home, whereas Billy Leadley entered responsible pleas to 2 extra costs, certainly one of failing to satisfy the wants of 9 dogs being stored outdoors, and proudly owning a prohibited kind of canine.

The RSPCA launched an investigation into canine preventing within the Essex and London areas after an officer visited Ali’s handle, in August 2021, following data referring to the welfare of a canine on the property. The officer, Nick Jonas, noticed 4 dogs on the property – a pet inside the home, and three dogs being stored in kennels within the backyard – and in addition discovered a conveyable kennel and two canine operating machines.

RSPCA Animal Rescue Officer Jonas mentioned, in his witness assertion: “I noticed a light-coloured feminine bull breed kind, two-years-old, named Bonnie, with scars and scratches on her face and legs. When I questioned Ali about this he suggested the canine has very skinny pores and skin and runs by way of bushes which lower her face. I additionally noticed a cream feminine bull breed, seven-years-old, named Dotti, and a black male bull breed kind, five-years-old, named Oscar.

“He suggested that these dogs don’t belong to him and that they belong to his buddy in Ireland. He suggested they get despatched forwards and backwards to be bred and that he cares for them right here generally.

“At the end of the garden there was a shed, when asked if I was able to look in there he advised that the shed did not have anything in it. Inside there was a portable kennel and two dog running machines. When questioned about them, he advised he uses them to exercise the dogs.”

Based on what he noticed, Officer Jonas handed on his considerations concerning the scarring and treadmills to the RSPCA’s Special Operations Unit – a taskforce which investigates severe and organised animal crime, together with canine preventing.

Dogs seized

The staff – led by Inspector Kirsty Withnall – started to assemble data and intelligence on Ali, prompting a warrant at his handle on 14 March 2022 which was executed by the Metropolitan Police. Two dogs – Dotti and Oscar – had been seized by police and placed into RSPCA care.

Dog preventing paraphernalia – together with a slat mill, two treadmills, 4 break sticks and two flirt poles – had been all recovered from Ali’s home, in addition to a DIY vet package.

In her witness assertion, Inspector Withnall mentioned: “At the very end of the garden after the kennels was a garden room which housed two treadmills, which were plugged in and in working order. There was also a slat mill. These were clearly for dogs, each of them had a chain on them where you would attach a dog. One of the treadmills had a homemade wooden structure built on top of it which would have kept a dog secure.”

Her assertion added: “I have seen the weighing unit, break sticks and flirt poles in dog fighting investigations before. The dogs will be weighed before a fight, the break sticks are to break the dogs apart when they are fighting and ‘locked on’, and the flirt poles are a training aid to get the dogs to jump up and strengthen their back legs.”

Referring to a vet package that was seized from the property, Inspector Withnall mentioned: “This was a substantial vet kit; it contained items such as two skin staplers, an IV kit for fluids, bandages, needles, steroids, antibiotics, painkillers and medication. I have seen homemade vet kits used by people that fight dogs before, this is because they will treat the dogs themselves rather than take the dogs to the vet and raise suspicion.”

A cell phone – which nobody claimed possession of – was additionally seized from Ali’s handle. Investigators managed to get access to the telephone utilizing Ali’s 12 months of beginning because the password. The Apple ID used his electronic mail handle and the telephone’s machine title was ‘Phillip’s iPhone’.

Ali’s telephone confirmed a number of the males had been utilizing WhatsApp and one other safe messaging app to speak. Ali had recorded hours value of WhatsApp voice notes – which had been then despatched to a number of the different males – describing planning forward of the fights in addition to the accidents the dogs had suffered in fights and the way he was treating them.
In her witness assertion, Inspector Withnall added: “The telephone content material is totally canine associated … a lot of the content material is linked to canine preventing, which incorporates coaching / conditioning of dogs, using treadmills, the weighing of dogs (pre-fight), the preventing of dogs or the treating of dogs after a combat.

“There are a lot of pictures of bull terrier kind dogs, some are closely scarred or injured, together with facial or leg accidents … There are screenshots of pictures of two bull kind dogs with wording implying they had been to combat one another. There are pictures and movies of various canine fights, the dogs and the pits they’re held in have blood on them.

“There are voice notes to and from Ali and [another man based in Ireland] discussing dog fighting, including lots of lengthy messages regarding the training of the dogs, the dogs being in a keep… It was clear from the messages that Ali was treating very sick and ill dogs, he talks about putting dogs on drips and injecting them, the dogs ‘hanging on’, being sick and having very bad diarrhoea. It was clear from the messages this medication was for use after the dog fights. Ali sent a voice note saying they were notorious in the dog fighting world and others were jealous of their status and how good their fighting dogs were.”

Evidential ‘goldmine’

A lot of deleted canine preventing movies had been additionally recovered from Ali’s telephone.

Speaking outdoors of courtroom following the verdicts, SOU investigator Chief Inspector Ian Muttitt – who gave proof throughout the trial – mentioned: “The mobile phone was a goldmine of information and evidence. It contained graphic videos and images of brutal dog fights, match reports following organised fights, information relating to some of the men’s travel plans and accommodation for specific fights, as well as messages between a number of the defendants planning fights, talking about training regimes, and discussing the injuries dogs had suffered.”
The investigation staff collated sufficient proof – together with intelligence offered by the League Against Cruel Sports – for 3 additional warrants which had been executed by Essex Police and Merseyside Police on 18 May 2022 – on the Leadleys’ handle in Essex; at Brown’s handle, additionally in Essex; and at a 3rd handle in Merseyside.

Sixteen dogs had been seized from the Leadleys’ handle, together with a lot of bullbreeds thought to have been used for preventing, many being stored in poor circumstances in a storage, plus two smaller breeds who had been eliminated on welfare grounds from the home. One canine was seized from the property in Merseyside.

In her assertion, discussing the dogs at Leadley’s handle, Inspector Withnall mentioned: “The left hand side of the garage housed eight bull breed dogs in individual pens. Some pens had a kennel / bed area and none of the dogs had water. They had shavings on the floor. The doors to garage B were shut when we arrived and the area was dark, dingy and filthy. There was a large amount of cobwebs everywhere. The garage was warm, yet it was early in the morning and smelt strongly of urine and faeces. There were empty bowls in the middle of the garage area.”

Scales discovered at Leadley’s property matched a photograph of scales shared in a Whatsapp message and screenshotted on Ali’s telephone; linking the 2 with the organisation of a combat between Oscar and Harry.

A slat mill, vet package and books about canine preventing had been all recovered from Brown’s handle; whereas a flirt pole, two slat mills, weighted collars and different weight coaching tools, plus 4 break sticks had been all seized from the Leadleys’.

Inspector Withnall’s assertion mentioned: “There are numerous messages between Brown and Ali regarding training and conditioning dogs for dog fights, logistics of attending dog fights and treating injured dogs after they have fought … It can be seen from the voice notes on Ali’s phone that Brown looks after the dogs before Ali starts more of their fitness work.”

At the Leadley’s property, inspectors additionally found a canine preventing pit. In her assertion, Inspector Withnall mentioned: “Behind the middle area of the garage was what I recognise to be a dog fighting pit. This boxed-in area measured 12ft long and 8ft wide, there was a door into the area from inside the garage… The area had a cream carpet and it looked like there could be blood splatters on the wall, so it was arranged for scenes of crime officers to attend. I recognised this area to match photos I had seen on Ali’s phone of a black bull breed dog and a tan bull breed dog fighting in this pit area.”

Two thumbnails from a deleted video discovered by investigators on Ali’s telephone had been proven to the courtroom, displaying two dogs preventing within the pit later discovered at Leadley’s handle. In defence, Leadley informed the courtroom that the picture confirmed two dogs mating.

Forensic checks had been undertaken on 10 samples from the preventing pit space and confirmed that blood got here from at the very least 5 completely different dogs.

International canine fights

Speaking outdoors of courtroom following the verdicts, Chief Inspector Muttitt mentioned: “The information on the phone linked most of the defendants together and we could see that they’d been involved in at least four dog fights; one held in Essex, at the Leadleys’; one in Ireland; and one in France, for which they flew into Bordeaux. The other fight was held at an unknown location in England.”

The first combat occurred on the weekend of 16/17 October 2021 between dogs Oscar (Ali’s) and Harry (Leadleys’) on the Leadleys’ handle. The match report, additionally saved on Ali’s telephone, confirmed that Oscar received the combat, stating: ‘He hits Harry in the throat and is driving in hard’. Oscar was later seized and brought into RSPCA care following the warrant at Ali’s home.

Messages on the telephone referenced Oscar’s therapy after the combat and urged that one spherical had lasted 45 minutes. Harry was by no means discovered.

A second combat took place between 12-15 November 2021 in France, with plenty of the boys travelling to the Bordeaux space. Dotti (Ali’s) was one of many fighters. The match report confirmed that Dotti received the combat in six minutes.

The telephone additionally held a photograph of Ali and Brown with plenty of unidentified males out at dinner collectively after Dotti’s win.
A 3rd combat took place on 27/28 November 2021 between Bonnie – seen at Ali’s when Officer Jonas visited in August 2021 – and a canine known as Merengue. It’s not clear the place this combat took place but it surely was refereed by Billy Leadley,

The match report, discovered on Ali’s telephone, declared Merengue the winner, including: ‘Bonnie now getting tired loss of blood and one of her front legs has been broken… possible both and then she starts to lay down and it’s going a method.”

Speaking outdoors courtroom after the listening to, Chief Inspector Muttitt mentioned: “The match report showed that Bonnie lost the fight within 25 minutes and suffered two possible broken legs in the brawl. She was never located during our investigation so we have no idea what happened to her after she suffered such severe injuries.”

A fourth combat took place between 25-27 February 2022 in Ireland and proof confirmed Ali, Brown and others travelled to Ireland with the canine, Olivia, who misplaced to a canine known as Mojo. Ali dealt with Olivia within the combat. Messages retrieved from his telephone present she subsequently died from her accidents.

Chief Inspector Muttitt added: “We had messages that showed that there was a planned fight for the weekend of 25/26 March 2022. Dotti and Oscar were due to fight later in the year but we executed our warrant on 14 March and seized both dogs from Ali’s property so fortunately these fights never went ahead.”

In a voice message, despatched by Ali and recovered from a telephone discovered at one of many May 2022 warrants, Ali mentioned he supposed to reschedule the fights if he acquired the dogs again from the RSPCA. And one other voice word, despatched by Ali to Brown, mentioned each Oscar and Dotti had been matched for fights later within the 12 months, with prize pots of £3,000 and £5,000 respectively.

Amy and Billy Leadley, Phillip Ali and Stephen Brown will all seem at Chelmsford Crown Court on 3 June for sentencing.