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Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Daily Mail
My dad and I were jailed for running an illegal steroid lab together and brawled in the courtroom - I can't believe how he betrayed me, but being locked up came with a surprising upside
A father and son from Wales who were jailed together for running an illegal steroid lab were brought closer together - despite brawling in the courtroom. Macaulay Dodd and his father Andrew were sent down for running the operation, which was disguised as a dog grooming business to launder the cash they were making. Their story is told in brand new BBC documentary Confessions Of A Steroid Gang as Macaulay reveals how he was first introduced to steroids when he was just 15. After a bitter divorce, Andrew was raising two sons on his own, with his relationship with Macaulay significantly strained and the pair argued a lot. However, with little money, Andrew - originally a cockle fisher on the Dee estuary - met a man one night in the pub who wore nice clothes and flashed money, revealing he was in the steroid business. The BBC doc, which starts on Tuesday night, recreates how Macaulay and his father set up a manufacturing lab for the Class C drug, while the drug duo recounted their every move. The BBC doc, which starts on Tuesday night, recreates how Macaulay and his father set up a manufacturing lab for the Class C drug, while the drug duo recounted their every move Speaking to the Daily Mail, Macaulay said: 'We were always at each other, previous to getting into work together making the steroids. 'I think before that there'd be the odd time where we got on and that, and then when we started working [on the steroids] and sort of like becoming a team and and spending quality time together.' He added that before that, the last time they spent time like that was at football matches when Macaulay was a child. After moving out of their hometown of Deeside, they set up their lab in a remote farmhouse where they operated under the guise of the countryside. During the three-part series, as the money rolls in fast, the police are onto the Dodds and start tracing and intercepting synthetic testosterone being imported into the UK. To keep the trail as cold as possible, they enlisted the help of unassuming individuals to take in the shipments for 'easy money', however, increasingly they noticed how packages never made it, having been caught by the police. They called their 'company' Renvex, with it quickly becoming a highly-sought and praised product among users and demand only increased. Andrew said: 'You've got to realise that it was a norm for us when we were doing it, but you, you know, you have the Joe public who might think, oh, Jesus Christ, f**king hell, look, it's Breaking Bad, but I mean, for me, no, it was just a normal job.' The net was closing for them as police raided Terence Murrell's flat in London, who was an online dealer, suppling Renvex. For Macaulay, in hindsight he can see signs time was running out, explaining: 'I just I had this feeling and I spotted a couple of things and things were happening and I think at the time, I was very paranoid anyway, and very like alert of of certain things, because what I was up to.' In a dramatic police raid at the farmhouse, both Andrew and Macaulay were arrested and subsequently charged, with the operation valued at £1.2million. For Andrew, it was almost a relief for everything to be over, admitting: 'I was sick to death of it, f**king lying to people and I wasn't me, let's put it that way, you know what I mean?' Three years later, they were each sentenced to five years in prison each, with Macaulay furiously lunging at his father in the courtroom after their sentences were handed down. He had blamed his dad for not 'protecting' him more than he believes he could have during the process, which Andrew disagrees with. In a twist, they were initially incarcerated together, forcing them to address their problems thanks to their abundance of free time and the pair have now built up a close relationship. For Andrew, it was almost a relief for everything to be over, admitting: 'I was sick to death of it, f**king lying to people and I wasn't me, let's put it that way, you know what I mean?' Reflecting on his prison stint, Macaulay added to Daily Mail: Prison saved me as a person, changed me into a different person and I I feel like when I went to prison, I grew into a man. 'I feel like I went to prison as a as a weak-minded boy and an angry little boy, and I feel like I've come out of prison as a grown man.' While Andrew now works for the National Grid, Macaulay is hoping their story can raise awareness and is looking to go into youth work. He concluded: 'I want to go into maybe helping, helping people and youth, going into youth work. I think there's a big place you can help people in like loads of ways.'
BBC News
19-05-2025
- BBC News
Hilbre Island: Plan for art and science centre on nature reserve
Artists, scientists and ecologists have been working together to create a centre for science and art at a nature Island, off the coast of the Wirral peninsula, is a tidal island with a long history of strategic importance for seafarers and wildlife. Already a site of Special Scientific Interest and a wetlands of international importance, the island plays an essential role in the maritime heritage of Wirral and the Dee Estuary. Led by Liverpool-born artist Terry Duffy, the new collaboration will create a centre for science, art and sustainability on the island, utilising old buildings already there. The Hilbre Island Community Land Trust was established by three organisations, the British Art & Design Association, Hilbre Island Bird Observatory and the Friends of Hilbre with the shared aim of securing a long term future for the important heritage buildings and protected landscape within the central portion of the island. The buildings on the island, four of which are Grade II-listed, will be restored to create the centre, to expand the existing monitoring of migratory birds and to enable greater connection with the local community through educational part of Independents Biennial, the artist-led, sister-festival to Liverpool Biennial, a summer of artist residencies, workshops, exhibitions and performances will cast a spotlight on the restoration and protection of the historic Duffy said: "I want visitors to be fascinated, surprised, intrigued, and challenged by this unique nature reserve island."The programme of events will run throughout the Independents Biennial, which begins on 7 June and runs until 14 September. Listen to the best of BBC Radio Merseyside on Sounds and follow BBC Merseyside on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.
