William England defends in Operation Orchid

William England defends in Operation Orchid. Gordon Cole QC and Sara Haque prosecute the case that started in Manchester on the 14th March 2022. The trial is expected to last 8 weeks. The case involves an alleged conspiracy to burgle a number of high value cigarette consignments over a 9-month period, and an associated aggravated burglary and manslaughter, that was alleged to have resulted during the targeting of one of the premises.

Operation Orchid is an investigation involving a number of alleged co-conspirators that are said to have targeted self-storage units and commercial storage facilities in the North West of England. On the 22^th October 2020 the gang are said to have raided a storage container with some £825,000 of cigarettes contained within it. The owners of the site confronted the gang, and in making good their escape, they are said to have attacked the owner’s vehicle with baseball bats and crowbars. The case involves complex issues of causation and whether there is a sufficiency of proximity to the attack on the car, which the crown asserts ultimately led to the death of the victim, who was said to have a pre-existing heart condition. A number of experts will be called during the trial.

William England was instructed by Jared McNally at Clifford Johnston Solicitors.