Men Jailed For Stealing High Performance Cars
Criminals who handled stolen high performance cars from across West Yorkshire have been stung for nearly £170,000 following a major West Yorkshire Police investigation into an international vehicle crime ring.
Taqi Mir (30) Mazhar Mir (28) from Bradford and Raess Khan (35) from Heaton were ordered to pay back £168,000 between them following a Proceeds of Crime Act hearing on Wednesday 22 January at Bradford Crown Court.
In total, Taqi Mir must pay back £105,890.43 within six months and Raees Khan must pay £55,722.96, also within six months. Finally, Mazhar Mir must pay £6,850.08 within three months.
Taqi Mir was jailed for six and a half years and Mazhar Mir for four and a half in total in 2012 for offences of conspiracy to handle stolen cars and a separate offence of conspiracy to defraud connected to vehicle clocking.
Raees Khan was also jailed for nine years in 2012 for conspiracy to handle stolen cars.
If they fail to pay back their confiscations in the required time limits, Taqui Mir will face an extra two years in prison while Mazhar will face a three month sentence. Raess Khan will meanwhile face an extra 18 months added to his setence.
Their convictions followed a long running operation lead by Kirklees CID and Stoke on Trent Trading Standards from 2009 into offences in which high value cars were stolen for sale to the Far East.
Specialist officers raided properties in Bradford in summer 2010 as part of the investigation and seized high performance cars including a Ford Mustang.
Cars identified as stolen as part of the scam ranged from VW Golf’s and Audi’s to Bentley’s and Porches, many of which were taken from homes across the county for sale.
A number of the cars were recovered during the Police and Trading Standards enquiry and returned to their rightful owners.
Detective Chief Inspector Paul Jeffrey of Kirklees CID, said: “These are substantial confiscations which represent the end of a long running operation by police and trading standards colleagues into a sophisticated criminal enterprise which saw hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of vehicles stolen for sale abroad.
“Through this confiscation all three defendants will be compelled to hand over the assets and cash they have available or face extensions to their prison sentences.
“These men profited from others misery and thanks to the Proceeds of Crime Act we have now been able to strip substantial amounts of cash from these individuals to be reinvested in the fight against crime.”
West Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner, Mark Burns-Williamson said: “Cases like these highlight the considerable amount of money we can potentially recover from criminal enterprises and which could be used to the benefit of local people and police.
“I am campaigning for all the money seized under the Proceeds of Crime Act to be returned to our communities, as half currently goes back to Government and cases like this are a timely reminder of the amounts involved.
“West Yorkshire Police has an excellent track record in recovering the ill-gotten gains of criminals, but currently only a relatively small proportion of the amounts recovered find its way back here. As a matter of principle that can’t be right.
