NCA publishes updated list of restrictions imposed on convicted criminals

The National Crime Agency has today (2 August) published a list of active preventative orders (

) to support its lifetime management of serious offenders.

The orders, known as Ancillary Orders, are designed to frustrate criminality, both in and out of prison. They include Serious Crime Prevention Orders (SCPOs), Slavery and Trafficking Prevention Orders, Financial Reporting Orders and Travel Restriction Orders.

Among other conditions, these orders can restrict the number of mobile phones or computers that offenders can access, limit the amount of cash they can carry, and require them to surrender passports and provide financial information at regular intervals.

The NCA rigorously takes action against those who breach the terms of ancillary orders, and since 2020 the agency has recorded and taken appropriate action against 136 breaches.

Most recently, 52-year-old Darren Finch, a convicted drug smuggler, was made subject to his third consecutive SCPO.

An NCA investigation discovered he was engaged in criminality and in breach of an SCPO that became active upon his release from prison in 2017 for a period of five years.

He appeared at court in April this year where he was sentenced to six-and-a-half years imprisonment – five years for drug offences and 18 months for breaching his SCPO.

On 18 July, a new SCPO – Finch’s third – was granted to run for a further five years when he is released from his current prison sentence.

Maros Tancos, aged 47, who was sentenced to 16 years imprisonment for modern slavery and human trafficking offences in June 2022, was issued with a Slavery and Trafficking Prevention Order.

The terms of the lifetime order restrict him from engaging in activity that may allow him to identify and exploit vulnerable victims, including restricting his contact with named individuals.

Convicted drug trafficker Curtis Warren, aged 60, is subject to a number of restrictions under a five-year SCPO that became active when he was released from prison in November 2022.

Terms within the order include prohibiting him from using any instant messaging service as well restrictions on the number of phones, email accounts and vehicles he can own or use.

Alison Abbott, Head of the NCA’s Prison and Lifetime Management Unit, said: “Many career criminals regard prison as an interruption which rarely marks the end of their involvement in organised crime. This is why we have a policy of lifetime management. Once a criminal is on our radar, they stay on it.

“These orders can include a wide variety of restrictions, all designed to limit the opportunities for criminals to engage in illegal activity. Part of their power is that they make offenders subject to an order toxic to other criminals – the very fact they are being monitored makes it risky for criminals to be associated with them for fear of coming onto our radar themselves.”

Publication of orders is considered carefully and on a case-by-case basis – those judged to meet the right criteria appear on the

. Publishing data on criminals who are subject to these orders enables other organisations and the public to report breaches.

Anyone with relevant information on the individuals named should contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or via its website.

02 August 2023