27/02/2012 Inside Out South East

Targeting the old and vulnerable. When the victim starts to say,

"Well, actually, I haven't got any money," that's when they will start

to get more aggressive. That's when they'll start saying, "We'll take

you down to the cash line, we will get the money out for you, we will

take you to the bank." A radical treatment for heroin

addicts. I'm just scared... course you are. ..that in the next

four days, I'm going to feel worse than I am now.

And we are back at the big cat sanctuary to see how the tiger cubs

are doing in the snow. Yeah, getting on great. They are six

months old now. When they are playing - and we see it as playing,

but tigers only know two games, that is hunting and practising. So

when they are chasing and stalking, one is the predator and one is the

prey and they are practising to hunt.

I'm Natalie Graham with untold stories, closer to home. From all

around the south and south-east, Hello, this week, I'm deep in the

Kent countryside, and pretty deep in the snow, near the village of

Smarden. I'll be back later, but first up:

Preying on the vulnerable. How organised criminal groups are

exploiting the old and afraid. Emma Thomas has been finding out what's

They travel up and down the country, targeting the elderly and

vulnerable. Ruining lives. Robbing life-savings.

Many people who become a victim of doorstep crime think it won't

happen to them. But here in Kent and Sussex, people are being

tricked out of hundreds of thousands of pounds.

Good afternoon, sir. How are you? We have done some work for a

neighbour and we have some stuff left over from doing their roof.

The tactics conmen use are well practiced - offering to carry out

work that's unneccessary and charging extortionate rates. Cheap,

honest, reliable work. But it's how they choose their victims that most

of us would find disturbing. type of victim that they will go

for will be people that are within a community but on their own. Maybe

their relatives have died, their partners have died, their friends

have moved away. They are not particularly friendly with the

neighbours. So they will be in a community, but in a way, isolated.

We went all the way up to Tunisia... Gerald Griffiths is 90. He fought

in five different countries during the Second World War. That's the

Italians. -- Italian staff. That's the France and Germany one.

But a few years ago, living alone and recovering from cancer, he was

targeted by conmen. They came in a proper signed the vehicle, well-

dressed. -- proper signed. They even had identity tags up on their

chest. They wanted to clean the roof of moss and paint the roof. I

agreed. But cleaning moss was just the

beginning. It was the first of many visits. Over a period of around

three years, different criminal gangs kept coming back - offering

to do work that was unnecessary. He was conned out of �80,000. I felt a

bit angry, because it seemed As a Trading Standards officer,

Jason Reilly visits areas that conmen target and says it's easy to

pick out potential victims. They will drive around an estate like

this and they will be looking at properties that they can target.

And once a gang has identified someone as vulnerable, they can be

repeatedly targeted. Trading Standards officers and

intelligence sources told us that they believe the gangs have

"suckers list" - details of vulnerable people they share and

sell to other criminals. Police officer Ben Turner says

there are criminal patterns. He's investigated many cases involving

elderly people in Kent. From investigations that I have carried

out, I have been able to show that groups of people that we have

investigated have shared information about possible targets,

if you like. Sometimes, a person will be visited more than once over

a period of time. And the timescale can vary from a month, six months...

It can go up two years. But unfortunately, if they are seen as

an easy touch, they may be returning to that same person.

And it's not just people who are completely alone who are preyed

upon. Parents can be conned behind their children's backs - as Cate

Partridge knows. Her mother was suffering from Alzheimers when she

was tricked. It is shocking and it is upsetting. And I think it's

really the emotional impact that it had on us, because we realised how

vulnerable my mum had become. The conmen started out by offering

repair work, but were soon taking Cate's mother to the bank up to ten

times a day. Making her withdraw large sum of cash. -- large sums.

She didn't think there was anything odd about the fact that she had

been handing over large sums of money to total strangers. She just

said some nice men came to the door and they asked me for money and I

gave it to them. So obviously my brother and I were very concerned.

Who were these men? What had happened? How much money? And we

looked at her bank book and realised that actually, over the

course of two weeks, it added up �30,000.

Cate feels her mum was deliberately targeted because she had dementia.

She died a year later. The people who did this to my mum are

disgusting really, I think that to make your living stealing money

from old vulnerable people, who've worked hard all their lives to earn

it, is revolting. It is going to be �2,000. You said it wouldn't be

more than 500. The conmen might start by giving a

reasonable quote, but once the so- called jobs been done, the bill can

run into thousands of pounds. That's when things can turn nasty.

I haven't got that sort of money in When the victim starts to say,

"Well, actually, I haven't got any money," that's when they will start

to get more aggressive. That when they say, we will get the money at,

we will take you to the bank. We know you have money, because you

have jury, you modernise television. -- jury. -- jewellery. Police have

set up a unit to gain information on conmen who evade detection by

moving around the country. The criminals are hard to catch.

They have multiple identities and addresses and can change company

names just like that. The conmen who targeted Mr Griffiths have

never been caught. He feels there should be a law to stop people

cold-calling. I think they shouldn't be allowed to sell at the

door. If you have a sticker in the window, they shouldn't waste their

time coming up to the door. I would like to see the law changed, I

would like to see specifically in areas where people have gone to the

effort of creating controlled zones, no court -- cold-calling, where

they make it very clear that they don't want people knocking on their

door trying to sell them things. If people go to the effort of creating

these zones, I think they should have the weight of the law, and it

should be illegal to actually knock on the door and try and sell

services such as building and things associated with it.

It's difficult to say how widespread this type of crime is as

it can be counted as fraud, or even theft. We're doing all we can.

There are certain methods and techniques that we can use and put

into practice to minimise people becoming a victim or a further

victim of crime, but we can't fortune-tell where people are going

to go and what they are going to do. But there are steps people can take

to protect themselves from criminals. A lot of Trading

Standards' work is based on prevention.

So where does this come into it? does seem a bit bizarre, doesn't

it? The situation is if you have things like bicycles, children's

toys, may be a poster of a football team of in the window, dead it is

all signs of activity, people coming and going and movement --

then it is. It can help deter somebody cold-calling.

And Trading Standards say the best advice is don't buy at the doorstep.

To keep conmen out of your home, out of our neighbourhoods and off

Emma Thomas reporting. Coming up: a controversial scheme for drug

addicts. I would drive home and I would score again but I know I

can't do that and I have to change Now, last year we told you about a

sanctuary in Kent on a mission to save critically endangered big cats

from extinction. Well, we're back to find out just how they are

They're magnificent, They're majestic, They're mischievous. But

they might not be around for much longer.

These big cats are some of the rarest in the world.

They're a long way from their natural habitat, but they're here

in Kent for a very good reason. To keep their species alive.

This is the Wildlife Heritage Foundation's Big Cat Sanctuary just

outside Smarden Village, near Ashford. The sanctuary works with

zoos all over the world, pairing up big cats, and doing everything that

they can to help them produce cubs. bloodlines and keeping endangered

species from extinction. It's like a dating agency for big

cats. Last summer, we were given access

to film some incredible moments in the history of the sanctuary.

From the birth of two Sumatran Tiger cubs, Kubu and Toba...

Here is the first one. To the arrival of precious Amur

leopard, Hogar. Now we're back. It's the middle of

winter and we are back to see how It is early February. After snow,

Brian Badger is making sure the big cats are coping. Do they like the

snow? They seem to. It is nature's way of changing the cambers. Some

of them come from places where there is a lot of snow around.

Animals are used to extremes. If you think about Siberia, summer

temperatures of 35 and winter temperatures are minus 50. Unlike

humans, we are not used to small changes, they are incredibly hardy.

Just like children, Sumatran tiger cubs Kubu and Toba love snowball

fights. And I thought I would join in, although my aim is not quite as

good as it should be. Right on the I! The Sumatran tiger is one of

only five species of Tiger living in the world today. Critically

endangered, 200 remain in the wild on their native Indonesian island.

These cards are a crucial part of the breeding programme. -- cubs.

Last time we saw them they were five weeks old. How are they doing

now? They are six months old now. They are growing at a great rate.

They are everything they should be at this stage. They have been

playing a lot. Is that what they would do in the wild? When they are

playing, we see it as playing, but Tigers only no hunting and

practising. As they are chasing, one is the hunter and one is the

prey. In the wild they can eat up to 40 macro -- 40 Powersong -- �40

of pay. -- of hay. They tend to enjoy it. They eat it. Within the

next day or two they will be entered on to the stud book. We

have a book-keeper who controls the breeding for the animals throughout

Europe and beyond and they will try to do and match. Probably in around

12 months, they will go off to their respective partners. Arranged

marriages already. At silly Eve. Arranged marriages are better than

blind dates! It was the studbook that brought Hogar the Amur leopard

from a zoo in the Czech Republic to Kent. He is to mate with Xizi who

lives here. They are called Amur leopards because they live in this

place on the border. The Amur leopard is the most endangered big

cat on the planet. It is thought there are as few as 30 in the wild.

They plan has been drawn up to breed them in captivity and take

them back to the Valley where they will live in a protected reserve.

They would get used to Russian conditions, learn to hunt, and any

cubs they have would be released, populating the area. But it is not

just a case of putting two Leopards together. A female will not mate

with any male that comes along. She will come into a fix season, giving

off the hormones that tell him she is in season -- it will be a fake

season. She can reject him. In the wild, the animals only come

together to make. For this reason, Hogar and Xizi have been kept

separate, but in adjoining sections for months. If the timing is not

kill each other. We had come back hoping they would be put together,

but we had to leave not knowing if this would happen. Then we had a

telephone call from the sanctuary. Xizi was in season. Hogar was

showing interest. We have come back to see them. Six months ago they

were not making. Last week, they were still not making. But there

has been good news. I am here to see what has happened. We are about

to open the division. It is one of these things where you do not want

them to totally ignored each other. You want a level of aggression

shown by the male, because he has to prove himself. She will tease

him a little bit, and ultimately, we want to start the mating process.

Come on, Xizi. Xizi! We might have There we go. She did not hesitate

much about coming in. No. She is playing. She just presented herself

to him. Now they are making. That was no time at all. She knew what

she wanted. Absolutely. The what is happening now? She is rolling

around. What that does is increase the chance of conception. This is

good. Yes, it is absolutely positive. Yes. Time is running out

for the Amur leopard and so a lot is investing on these two

extraordinary creatures. If they become parents of healthy cubs,

perhaps they will make the journey back from Kent to the forests of

Russia, to begin a new life on a There is a big debate at the moment

about how to help heroin addicts. Methadone is widely used, but not

everybody agrees it is the best. A charity is helping to send addicts

abroad for a radical treatment. Reed Kathy, she is 29 and from

Surrey and she is an addict. For the last three years she has been

addicted to heroin and prescription drugs. With the help of Reading

based charity East West Detox, she has come to Thailand in a bid to

get clean. But this is a detox like no other. You do not think it will

happen to you. You get in with the wrong crowd. You try things and do

things and it gets out of control. Cocaine, ecstasy, recreational, it

went on from about the age of 18. My best friend, I said I wanted to

try heroin. She said, if you are going to, I will not mind. I said,

we will get some. On the Friday I tried it and it went for mayor.

That decision would have a devastating effect -- one Kathy on

her family. I used to think, that will be it. Thamkrabok monastery

takes people from around the world with many forms of addiction. It's

detox centre it is run by monks. Addicted tos -- addicts have to

take responsibility for themselves. They have to say it was me and I

have to change. Men in workers here are former addicts. -- many workers.

I think many people who knew me laughed when they thought I would

be here as a monk, teaching these ideas. But, Buddhism, religion,

these ideas of faith in yourself are working and the world is accept

-- accepting them. Stripped of money and her passport, Kathy must

take a holy vow before treatment can begin. A it is making a

commitment not to use drugs ever again. The next four weeks will be

governed by the bell. A strict daily regime of steam baths,

teachings and, in the first week, induced sick nurse. Reality is

starting to bite. -- sick -- vomiting. If I said a plane ticket

home now? I would be out the door. That is the honest truth, I would

go home and score again. I know I cannot do that. I want to change my

life. I am feeling now, it is so... The monks believe that induced

vomiting purges the body of toxins. For the first five days they are

given a vomiting medicine. It is time for Kathy's first ceremony.

would rather be in prison in England right now, to be honest! I

have to get over this next five days. You have to lifted up like

this. Take it out and put it back If you get up and walk around you

will feel much better about it. You can. We have people here were lot

worse than you, Kathy. We hear excuses all the time. Cathy has

refused a steam bath. It is part of the treatment. He is trying to see

if he can get her in there. It is the second day and she is feeling

rough. I want to sleep. His it is the little things that seem

important. Be yes. As well as treating addicts, Thamkrabok serves

as a warning to others. Today they are preparing for a public display.

This is what they call a show vomit. It is an event they put on three or

four times a week. They get the local children out as part of their

It is the sweating I cannot handle. I am freezing cold, believe it or

not. It is just coming out. Physically and also mentally.

it is a bigger battle in your head. It is really hard. I will have to

get through today. It is the vomiting, it is awful. Thamkrabok

does not know how many patients state clean after they leave, but a

report commissioned by eight East West Detox claims their success

rate was almost double here in the UK. As the days go on, Kathy is

struggling with the stark reality of the situation. I am not going to

fell. I am never going to put myself in this again above. This is

how Kathy will celebrate her 30th birthday. Will she last of the four

weeks? Two-and-a-half weeks later, Kathy has come home, early. Hello.

I am completely clean. My body is cleansed. It is great. Hello. Are

you all right? My real daughter. Not the zombie. Eight months on,

and Kathy is still clean. She is getting her life back on track and

hopes to start work soon. temptation has been there. After

what I went through, strength inside me said, no, because I -- if

I did it once, there is no going back on it at all. It is getting

back to normal. It has totally changed my life.

If you want more information about the show, you can visit the website.

You can also watch the show again. Next week, it is a holiday rip-off.

The website scam that trekked hundreds. Can peak devastation. A

humiliating, as well. -- complete devastation. They steal your money

with no intentions of a holiday. Plus we meet the leaders of the