Major chop shop operation sees men sentenced to 25 years in prison

Seven men - including some from Oldham - have been sentenced to a total of 25 years for their involvement in one of the most organised criminal networks Greater Manchester Police officers have ever seen. 

In total, this organised crime group stole almost 100 vehicles, with an estimated value of over £3 million.

The luxury cars were often stolen during terrifying robberies or burglaries, where members of the public were threatened, or cars were stolen to order from unsuspecting victims before they were shipped off overseas.

In 2022, seven men were convicted, and sent to jail collectively for over 45 years for their involvement in the multi-million pound conspiracy.

Asif Hussain (aged 47), Tonge Moor Road, Bolton, was identified as the ringleader.

He was jailed for 15 years for conspiracy to steal, two counts of conspiracy to handle stolen goods, and money laundering. 

Hadir Ali (29), of Lee Street in Oldham, was jailed for 11 years for two counts of conspiracy to handle stolen goods.

Sajid Jangharia (40), Willows Lane, Bolton, was jailed for ten years for conspiracy to steal and conspiracy to handle stolen goods.

Tayoub Hasnain (40) of Heywood Street, Bury, was jailed for five years and six months for conspiracy to steal and conspiracy to handle stolen goods.

Ibraaz Shafique (26) of Camberwell Street in Oldham, was jailed for four years for two counts of conspiracy to handle stolen goods and two counts of fraud.

Two other men received suspended sentences.

This week, seven co-conspirators have joined their associates behind bars for an additional 25 years.

Asif Matadar (40) of Melbourne Road, Bolton, has been sentenced to three years six months for conspiracy to steal. 

Shewaz Rehman (29) of Hereford Street in Oldham, has been sentenced for four years nine months for conspiracy to handle stolen goods. 

Imran Taj (43) of Malvern Road in Oldham, has been sentenced for four years for conspiracy to handle stolen goods.

Zeeshan Ali (34) of Ennerdale Terrance in Tameside, has been sentenced for three years nine months for conspiracy to handle stolen goods.

Adam Elwood (30) of Kingston Avenue in Chadderton, has been sentenced for six years for two counts of handling stolen goods and drug offences.

Mohammed Irfan (26) of Malvern Street, Oldham, has been jailed for three years for conspiracy to handle stolen goods.

James Hopkinson (29) of Seatoller Court in Oldham, has been jailed for eight months suspended for 12 months. 

The investigation began in June 2019 when an Audi A4 Saloon, which was hired from a dealership in Oldham, was due to be returned.

The dealership received a call saying it couldn’t be returned on time as it was delayed in London.

When the dealership decided to verify these facts, they saw that the car was not in London, but it was in an industrial unit in Stockfield Mill, Chadderton.

This unit, it transpired, was rented by Adam Ellwood.

When police gained entry to the unit, they discovered the rented Audi, but also parts from five other stolen vehicles with further items which belonged to three additional stolen vehicles.

Once the location of Stockfield Mill had been discovered by police, the conspirators needed a new premises for their business.

Undeterred, using the false name of David Brown, the group rented a new unit in Wigan.

Less than two weeks later, police discovered this unit, when the group made the same mistake of stealing a rented Mercedes.

CCTV from the premises showed Tayoub Hasnain and Asif Hussain renting the vehicle. Hasnain called the car hire company and the police, falsely claiming it had been stolen from his drive.

The tracking device fitted in the car disproved this statement and led police to the second unit in Wigan.

At the unit, police found Hadir Ali, who told the officers he was waiting for a friend despite being stood next to a forklift which had its engine running.

When later examined, the engines being loaded into a wagon were from stolen vehicles. Ibraaz Shafique was also present at the compound.

A search of the premises revealed the Mercedes that Hasnain had reported stolen, already in pieces having been dismantled, and the parts ready to be sold.

A further seven stolen vehicles were identified, including a Range Rover Sport and Porsche Cayenne, all missing parts.

Despite the premises being rented using the alias ‘David Brown’ police discovered that Asif Hussain had registered himself as a director of a company which had its registered office address as the unit.

It was third time unlucky for the gang as police discovered the latest unit in Vale Mill, Chadderton, on December 4, 2019.

Just after 10am earlier that day, an Audi RS3 was being driven in Oldham when it was targeted by thieves.

The thieves collided with the Audi, as the owner got out to inspect the damage, he was attacked, and the car was stolen.

The victim reported the incident to the police, and less than two hours later, police located the car at Vale Mill, substantially dismantled.

The unit also contained parts from two other stolen vehicles.

As police dismantled yet another chop shop, the gang continued with their conspiracy.

Texts between them showed them plotting to transfer the tenancy of the unit to a different name, as they feared police would soon bust the unit in their name, clearly evidencing they knew what they were doing was illegal, they knew they were on the police’s radar, but they didn’t care enough to stop.

Their intuition was correct, and in March 2020, police raided Vale Mill for a second time, this time discovering 17 stolen vehicles and an array of stolen vehicle registration numbers.

In April 2020, just three weeks after police executed warrants at Vale Mill, Hadir Ali rented a unit at Pioneer Mill, paying a cash deposit and two months’ rent up front.

On April 29, 2020, police executed a search warrant and located five stolen vehicles that had been chopped up.

As police responded to several incidents across Greater Manchester, which at first seemed to be isolated, specialist detectives from GMP's Serious Organised Crime Group were brought in to unravel the overall conspiracy and connect the incidents.

Throughout the period of the investigation, police seized several crucial mobile phones.

This evidence played a huge role in the breakthrough for this case as they revealed text messages and damning images and videos which detailed their involvement in the conspiracy.

In time, new material demonstrated a clear pattern of offending, and ‘shopping lists’ were recovered which essentially showed the men were stealing specific cars, namely Range Rovers and Land Rovers for order.

Cell site analysis placed the same phone numbers in the vicinity of different car thefts on multiple occasions, and it was this which led police to discover the entire team of car thieves involved.

Videos from the defendant’s phones showed them conducting drive bys, scoping out cars to steal.

On one occasion, Jangaria filmed a Range Rover saying, ‘it’s fresh.’

It was an intricate investigation which took years of collaborative and painstaking work to piece together seemingly separate incidents to establish that these crimes were in fact linked, with dozens of co-conspirators working across Greater Manchester and as far as London, making millions of pounds worth of profit.

During a two-year period, detectives identified and obtained evidence which linked the gang to the theft of at least 90 high value cars and the later disposal of these, resulting to an overall loss exceeding £3 million.

Between January 2020 to January 2021, police identified 11 containers which were shipped overseas, intercepting three which were destined for the United Arab Emirates.

To try and cover their tracks, they created a fake shipping company called KG logistics, but ordered the containers using fake company names, often cloning the details of legitimate businesses to mask their illicit enterprise.

As the investigation began to unravel, police found the locations where the gang would load the containers.

The landlord for these containers, was once again the infamous David Brown – the same alleged landlord of unit in Wigan.

As detectives analysed the financials of the group, the saw that Shafique deposited £50,000 – a fraudulent Covid Bounce Back Loan for a front company he set up.

During the period of these conspiracies, almost £170,000 cash went through Shafique’s account.

Incriminating messages from their group chat they called ‘The Company’ showed group messages saying ‘five-o busted the yard again.’

This was in relation to the police raid in Wigan in October 2019, joking they should start packing their jail kit.

These were really intrusive crimes which directly impacted our communities.

One car was stolen off a drive whilst the owner was on holiday, on one occasion, they walked into a house whilst the owners were in the garden and stole the keys, a separate incident involved a man being threatened to stay inside his house whilst they stole his car, or he would be killed.

On one occasion, they posed as valet parking at Manchester airport.

They created false documents, and the victim unknowingly handed over his keys, expecting his car to be kept safe whilst he was away.

Upon arrival back home after his holiday, he spoke with the legitimate company and discovered that he had been duped, and his car was gone.

Over the last three days, the men have been sentenced to a collective 25 years.

Detective Constable Allan Barker, from GMP's Serious Organised Crime Group, said: “This has been a long and complex investigation, and I am grateful to the Crown Prosecution Service who have given their time, expertise, and insight throughout this entire process.

"I am particularly grateful to our victims who came forward and enabled us to bring such a strong case against these men.

“This gang were extremely organised and had sophisticated connections in prominent areas across the globe, meaning they were able to ship millions of pounds of stolen cars and vehicle parts overseas.

“The transnational nature of this group meant international collaboration was essential to this investigation, and ultimately led to the arrest these men.

"We will continue to collaborate and share intelligence with our international partners to make sure no one gets off lightly and they face justice for their crimes at home.”

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