PREVIEW

**WARNING CONTAINS DISTRESSING IMAGES AND FOOTAGE**

The members of a gang - including the man known in the dog fighting world as ‘Dr Death’ - have been jailed for keeping and training dogs for fighting; and organising and attending fights across Europe.
Three men and one woman were all convicted by a jury in April of an array of offences following a five-week trial. They all returned to Chelmsford Crown Court on Monday (3June2024)] to be sentenced.
Phillip Harris Ali, 67, known as Dr Death, of Chigwell, Essex, was previously found guilty of 10 offences under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, including four offences of keeping and/or training a dog for use in a fight, and two of causing a fight.
On Monday he was sentenced to five years in prison and disqualified from keeping dogs for 10 years.
The team gathered information and intelligence on Ali, prompting a warrant at his Chigwell address on 14 March 2022 which was executed by the Metropolitan Police. Two dogs - Dotti and Oscar - were seized by police and placed into RSPCA care.
Officers discovered a vet kit, containing steroids, antibiotics, an IV kit for fluids and skin staplers, as well as items used for training fighting dogs, including treadmills, break sticks and flirt poles.
A mobile phone - with a device name of ‘Phillip’s iPhone - was also seized which investigators managed to access. It revealed a wide network of people using WhatsApp and secure messaging apps to plan fights, discuss training, debrief after fights, and share tips on how to treat injuries. Ali had recorded and sent hours worth of WhatsApp voice notes going into detail about his dogs.
Billy Leadley, 38, who is also known as GSK or Green Street Kennels - of Takeley, Essex, entered a guilty plea to one offence - of causing unnecessary suffering to a dog by failing to provide veterinary treatment for an injury to the dog’s tail - part-way through the trial.
The jury also found him guilty of a further nine offences under the Animal Welfare Act 2006; including keeping a premises for use in fighting, taking part in a fight by refereeing, and keeping and/or training a dog for use in a dog fight. At the end of the trial, Leadley entered guilty pleas to two additional charges, one of failing to meet the needs of nine dogs being kept outside, and owning a prohibited type of dog.
He was sentenced to four years in prison and disqualified from keeping dogs for 10 years.
Billy’s wife, Amy Louise Leadley, 39, also of Takeley, Essex, was found guilty of three offences, under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, including keeping a premises for use in fighting. At the end of the trial, she entered a guilty plea to one offence of failing to meet the needs of seven dogs in their house.
She was sentenced to an 18-month community order including 200 hours of unpaid work and a 25-day rehabilitation activity requirement. She was also disqualified from keeping dogs for 10 years.
Stephen Albert Brown, 57, of Burrow Road, Chigwell, Essex, was found guilty of five offences, including three of keeping and/or training a dog for use in an animal fight. He was sentenced to two years and six months in prison and disqualified from keeping dogs for 10 years.
A fifth man - Paul McClean, 43, also entered a guilty plea to one offence under the Dangerous Dogs Act. He was fined £100 and disqualified from keeping dogs for three years.
RSPCA Chief Inspector Ian Briggs heads up the charity’s Special Operations Unit, which led the investigation - called Operation Ghoul - into the gang.
He said: “Dog fighting is a barbaric and horrific bloodsport which has been illegal in this country for almost 190 years; yet there is a secretive and clandestine underworld where it continues to happen today.
“It has become a hobby, passion and source of entertainment for the people involved, but the reality is that the dogs involved suffer unimaginable pain, suffering, fear and distress. It’s only right that when we have evidence of the people who breed and train dogs for this life, individuals who own and handle dogs in the fighting ring, and those responsible for organising, hosting and refereeing the fights face justice in the courtroom.
“This gang dedicated their lives to breeding, preparing and training what they believed were champion fighting dogs. They enjoyed the build-up to a fight and the excitement of the bloody brawls, as well as trying to patch their injured and dying dogs back together after the event. Sadly, some of the dogs in this case suffered severe injuries and were never found but a mobile phone recovered as part of the investigation included match reports that detailed awful and fatal injuries suffered by some of the dogs involved.”
PC Kerry Rowson of Essex Police said: “The brutal crimes committed by Ali and Brown were cruel, calculated and entirely for their own profit.
“Our officers support the RSPCA across the county in tackling violent animal abuse, and it is right these two men (and others) faced justice for their actions.”
One dog was seized from McClean’s home in Merseyside, and sixteen dogs were seized from the Leadleys’ address in Takeley, including a large number of bullbreeds thought to have been used for fighting. Many of the dogs were being kept in poor conditions in dirty pens in a garage.
At the Leadleys’ property, inspectors also discovered a 12ft x 8ft dog fighting pit in the garage area
Speaking outside court, RSPCA SOU Chief Inspector Ian Muttitt, who gave evidence in court, said: “The mobile phone was a goldmine of information and evidence, including graphics videos and images of brutal dog fights, match reports detailing the results of fights, the gang’s travel plans for specific events, and messages where they discussed preparing for fights, results, and injuries the dogs had suffered.


“The match reports saved on Ali’s phones went into graphic detail about the injuries the dogs were suffering as a result of these fights. In the third fight, Bonnie lost within 25 minutes and suffered two possible broken legs in the bout but continued to fight for her life. We never found her so we have no idea what her fate was.


“We also found messages that show there was a fight planned for 25/26 March 2022 and that Dotti and Oscar - who we removed from Ali - were also due to fight later in the year, for £5,000 and £3,000 prize pots. Thankfully we rescued them before they were forced to fight again.”


He added that the dogs “didn’t have lives worth living” but are now “getting the love and care that they deserve and have really blossomed and come out of their shells.”