Food for thought this! Wonder how many people think about where they get their parts on eBay from! Good job West Mids police.
Brazen car crook jailed as police smash theft racket
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Tuesday 13 May 2014
An arrogant crook who taunted police with his sports car’s personalised plate S20LUN − doctored to mirror the word ‘stolen’ − has been jailed after West Midlands Police smashed his car theft racket.
Cocky Shanwaz Khan came to the attention of police when his Audi RS4 − sporting the S20LUN plates − was spotted in convoy with a stolen Mercedes driving through Birmingham in March 2012.
Detectives probed Khan’s dealings for six months and uncovered information indicating he was behind a ring that stole cars to order before shipping parts abroad.
And on 15 October when police raided his Erdington home, plus lock-ups he rented, they found an array of ‘chopped up’ cars stolen from across the West Midlands region.
In total officers linked the 30-year-old − plus brother Wajid Khan, cousin Seyed Khan and fellow conspirators Ross and Matthew Dunham − to more than 80 vehicles stolen during 2012 and collectively valued at £1.1-million.
Many of the vehicles were stolen from driveways after car-key burglaries but several of their victims were pulled from their cars during violent car-jackings.
And upwards of 3,000 parts stripped from the cars were sold on to unwitting internet buyers via an eBay accaount operated by the Khans.
Shanwaz Khan, from Marsh Lane, admitted conspiracy to commit burglary and handle stolen goods and at Birmingham Crown Court on Friday was jailed for seven years.
Wajid Khan (24), from Brookvale Road in Erdington, and 32-year-old Seyed Khan from Marsh Lane, admitted conspiracy to handle stolen goods and were both sentenced to 30 months behind bars.
Ross (21) and 24-year-old Matthew Dunham − both from Charter Avenue in Canley, Coventry − were jailed for five years and 39 months respectively after admitting conspiracy to burgle.
Investigating officer, Detective Constable Mo Azir, said: “We meticulously pieced together their network of premises and, when officers raided one unit in Aston, we found an Aladdin’s cave of stolen cars and parts. Many of these were high-value luxury cars that had been brutishly ’chopped’ up, whilst another premises in the city centre was used exclusively to store engines ripped from the stolen cars.
“The scale of their criminal operation was vast and they showed a complete disregard to the trail of destruction and misery left behind to victims of these offences.
“The brazen attitude of Shanwaz Khan was typified by his personalised number plate; this was a clear jibe at the authorities and he believed his underground theft racket was going unnoticed. The joke is on him now, though, as he starts a long prison term."
The gang were linked to 82 vehicle thefts during 2012 − all but 17 in the West Midlands − with Audis and BMWs their favoured marques.
They included a petrol station car-jacking on the night of 29 August, at the Total garage in Kingsbury Road, Erdington, when a man was dragged from behind the wheel of his £25,000 Ford Focus ST.
In the early hours of 27 April they stole two Mercedes C-Class from a driveway in Grovefield Crescent, Balsall Common, having grabbed keys during a break-in, and late on 11 June they drove off in a Seat Leon from outside a house in Coventry’s Standard Avenue.
However, the owner spotted her car being driven around Coventry on false plates the next day and later picked Matthew Dunham out as the driver during an ID procedure.
Shanwaz Khan stripped down cars and stored parts at industrial units in Cheston Road, Nechells − pictured − Northfield Road in Dudley; Kings Industrial Estate, Tipton; and Orphanage Road in Erdington.
He also rented space at City Self Storage, in Curzon Street, Digbeth, to stash stolen engines before shipping many of them abroad.
Det Con Azir, added: “The premises were leased by the Khans using false names and documentation…many of the cars were stolen to order for engines which the Khans shipped out to the continent.
“All five are subject of on-going Proceeds of Crime Act investigations and we’ll look to seize any assets obtained through criminal activities."
