Gary Allen trial: Court hears of undercover sting

Samantha Class (left) and Alena Grlakova were both strangled, jurors were told

Undercover police burned bloodied clothes and staged illicit deliveries to win a murder suspect's trust, a court has heard.

Seven officers were involved in the 2010 sting which attempted to link Gary Allen to the murder of Samantha Class.

A police handler told Sheffield Crown Court the team created cover stories and used pieces of "theatre" to build a friendship with Mr Allen.

He denies Ms Class's murder and a second killing 21 years later.

Ms Class's body was found on a river bank near Hull, in 1997. Alena Grlakova's body was discovered in a stream in Rotherham in 2019. She had been strangled and her body weighted down.

Jurors have heard both women worked in the sex industry at the time of their deaths and that Mr Allen harboured a hatred of prostitutes.

'Loner'

The 47-year-old was cleared of Ms Class's murder in February 2000, but jurors have heard "significant new evidence" led to a second trial.

Shortly after his acquittal, Mr Allen attacked two sex workers in Plymouth and, following his release from jail, moved into a hostel in Grimsby.

Humberside Police launched a year-long undercover probe - Operation Misty - involving five male and two female officers in 2010.

It produced more than 400 hours of secret recordings as officers looked to gather evidence to "prove or disprove" Mr Allen's role in Ms Class's death, the court heard.

Gary Allen was convicted in 2000 for attacking two sex workers in Plymouth, the court had heard

Giving evidence anonymously, a Humberside Police handler who worked on the operation described the defendant as "a loner".

Each of the officers had cover stories and "a character that was akin to Mr Allen's" in order to strike up a friendship with him, he said.

"We knew Gary Allen had a history of violence against women so we wanted to give that shared commonality", he said.

Jurors have previously heard that Mr Allen told one officer, referred to as "Ian", he had strangled a sex worker and "dumped her in the Humber".

The handler told the court Ian had used a piece of "theatre" - enlisting the defendant's help to burn some blood-stained clothing - to gain his trust.

He said Ian had told Mr Allen the clothes were evidence from a crime in Holland.

The handler described a further instance of "theatre" to the court where the defendant had collected a package for another undercover officer, convincing him the officer was a criminal "and able to keep criminal trust".

Jurors have heard Mr Allen had described sex workers as "scum" and "the lowest of the low" to probation officers. He also told them "about his strong dislike of sex workers" and how he fantasised about hurting them.

The trial continues.