Meat con gang boss tracked by BBC

Peter Roberts fled to Cyprus and was sentenced in his absence

A businessman who sold unfit meat to hospitals, schools and supermarkets has been jailed for six years after spending four years on the run.

Peter Roberts, 72, known as "Maggot Pete", was convicted in 2003 of fraud but fled the country after the start of the 12-week trial.

A BBC Inside Out investigation tracked him to Northern Cyprus and presented evidence to local authorities.

Roberts was deported and appeared at Derby Crown Court on Wednesday.

He will now serve the six-year prison sentence that was imposed in 2003 for his role in leading a gang which made at least £1m selling diseased chicken carcasses.

The scam involved selling the contaminated meat from a plant in Denby, Derbyshire, to meat wholesalers.

The chickens were not fit for human consumption

It ended up in major supermarkets across the UK and was even sold to hospitals and schools, the court heard.

Roberts was convicted at Nottingham Crown Court in September 2003 of conspiracy to defraud and failing to surrender to custody.

The investigation into Denby Poultry Products began in December 2000.

The multi-agency operation involved more than 100 police officers as well as around 50 local authority environmental health officers and Meat Hygiene Service staff.

Denby Poultry Products was a pet food processing plant registered to receive waste from poultry slaughterhouses for use in pet food.

But the business became involved in a chain of supply that stretched to businesses in Northampton, Milton Keynes and Bury.

Anonymous tip-off

The gang was based at premises described as rat-infested and sewage-ridden, where they butchered one million unfit chickens and turkeys before selling the meat.

Police raided the company's premises in March 2001 after an investigation lasting more than 30 months triggered by an anonymous tip-off.

A Food Standards Agency spokesman said: "Since that investigation much has been done to ensure that as far as possible such criminal activities are prevented.

"Last year the agency set up an independent Food Fraud Task Force, charged with reviewing current controls with a particular focus on meat.

"The expert group have supported the initiatives already undertaken and makes its final report next month."

The full BBC Inside Out East Midlands investigation into Maggot Pete will be aired on 19 September.