FOUR people have been convicted of stealing more than 40 cars across Birmingham and Solihull last year.
Between January and July 2024, Waqar Khan, Harris Haroon, Mohammed Akleem Ali and Bilal Khan loitered around streets and carparks looking for cars to steal.
Investigations revealed that Waqar Khan would often use his own car to stake out cars the group were going to steal or as part of a getaway convoy.
Through CCTV and investigations, officers discovered a pattern for the groups offending and were able to link them to dozens more car thefts.
The group would often share photos and videos on WhatsApp Snap Chat flaunting the cars they had stolen. Some of the videos showed the group posing by the stolen cars, driving them and even stealing them.
Screenshots of several stolen car posts from Facebook was also shared by the group in chats to each other. Including cars that had been recovered by police from locations that the group had left them to see if they had trackers.
Facebook posts made by victims about their stolen cars were also shared in the group and at times they would brazenly reach out to the victims to try and blackmail them into buying their own car back, on one occasion setting the figure at four thousand pounds.
If the cars had trackers, they would rip these out and replace them with their own trackers.
If the car wasn’t recovered, they would then reach out to potential buyers across the UK.
The group were arrested last July and their phones and equipment used to steal cars were seized.
In April, all four pleaded guilty to conspiring to steal motor vehicles and they were sentenced to the following at Birmingham Crown Court.
Waqar Khan, aged 25, of Finnemore Road, Birmingham jailed for four years and six months.
Harris Haroon, aged 20, of Whittington Oval, Birmingham was sentenced to three years in a young offenders institution.
Bilal Khan, aged 28, of Hob Moor Road, Birmingham received a two year suspended sentence.
Mohammed Akleem Ali, aged 18, of St Benedicts Road, Birmingham was handed a 36-month Youth Supervision Order and ordered to participate in a Restorative Justice intervention programme.
PC Junaid Ali from the Serious and Organised Crime Unit, said: “We do not underestimate the impact of having a vehicle stolen has on people. Not only is it an inconvenience, but it makes people feel vulnerable and scared.
“This group were prolific and treated their offending as a business enterprise. They committed these crimes again and again, stealing all types of cars and selling them on. But by doing so, they incriminated themselves.
“Our forensic investigators managed to interrogate their handsets and find lots of the material they filmed and sent to each other bragging about their criminality that ultimately caught them out.
“This is a great result and has meant that four prolific car thieves have been brought to justice.
“We always act on information from the public. If something doesn’t feel right, always report it to us because your information does make a difference.”
