Episode 7

A routine welfare check on a disability claimant exposes deception committed on a vast scale. The fraudster claimed high levels of benefits for 18 years, saying he was paraplegic, disabled from the waist down and unable to move his legs. The benefits were paid directly to him so that he could pay for carers to help him round the clock. But when social workers go round on a routine visit, they become suspicious. The person he said was his carer doesn’t seem to know any of the correct procedures for looking after him. Then social workers notice the man moving his legs. They start to question the extent of his disability. A massive investigation is sparked, and the Department for Work and Pensions soon discover that for 18 years this fraudster has been claiming £50,000 a year in benefits while having absolutely no signs of any disability.

In another case, the Trading Standards team in Swansea launch an investigation into a shopkeeper selling illegal cigarettes and tobacco. It takes multiple raids and painstaking detective work, but eventually they uncover a massive haul of illegal goods – including 30,000 cigarettes and eight kilos of rolling tobacco. The supply of illegal tobacco is a crime that costs the UK economy £2.8 million every year and poses a significant risk to the health of those who smoke it.