Todmorden man jailed for 20 years for role in machete wielding cash in transit robbery

Ryan Grogan of Hilltop drive in Rochdale and Russell Frankland of Gladstone Street in Todmorden have been jailed for 20-years each after a jury found them guilty of robbery at Minshull Street Crown Court.

The pair were found guilty of two robberies – they targeted Loomis cash transit vans as they delivered cash to ATMs in Todmorden and Rochdale.

On Saturday February 17 2018 police were called to the One Stop Shop in Todmorden after a second Loomis van had been targeted, the driver of the van had been attacked with a metal bar and the ATM box he was carrying was stolen. He saw the offender make off in a Ford KA.

On Saturday March 31 2018 police were called to another robbery – at Tesco on Silk Street in Rochdale. The same driver who was robbed in Todmorden was attacked and robbed again and slashed with a machete before the box he was carrying was stolen.

Investigating officers from Greater Manchester Police’s Serious and Organised Crime Group put the pair under surveillance, and gathered a wealth of evidence against them including phone data and tracked the pair’s cars over a number of months

The pair were arrested as they were planning their next strike outside another Tesco store, where they believed a delivery was due.

Detective Constable Matthew Whittaker from GMP’s Serious and Organised Crime Group said: “These are fantastic sentences handed to two people who targeted what they thought was an easy win.

“They planned their attacks, knowing exactly when and where the vans would be and struck as the drivers were at their most vulnerable.

“They profited in the short term for their thefts but for the foreseeable future they will be sat behind bars wondering was it all worth it?

“I hope they now understand that crime really does not pay.”

Keep up-to-date with all the latest news and breaking incidents in Halifax - join our dedicated Facebook group here.