Man who handled over £240k worth of stolen vehicles jailed

A man selling car parts on eBay – including some from vehicles stolen in Rochdale – has been jailed.

31-year-old Asad Mahmood, of Queens Road, Oldham was jailed for four years at Minshull Street Crown Court on Tuesday 9 February 2021 after pleading guilty to handling stolen goods between 23 June 2018 and 14 August 2019.

Part of Operation Dynamo - GMP's force-wide scheme which aims to crackdown on stolen vehicles and those involved in the process - officers discovered Mahmood's eBay account in November 2018 on which parts from late model vehicles were being sold.

The parts were subsequently bought by officers who discovered that they were in fact stolen.

Following a raid at an address on Pioneer Mill in Milltown, Radcliffe in Bury officers uncovered a 'chop shop' - finding numerous broken down vehicle parts including engines and vehicle body parts.

At the front of the unit were engines and several sets of car seats, and along the right-hand side of the unit were a number of individual storage rooms containing a variety of vehicle parts.

GMP vehicle experts seized the parts and following checks discovered parts linked to 20 vehicles stolen from Rochdale, Hale, Atherton, Wilmslow, Hull, Blackpool, Stockport, Oldham, Sale, Altrincham, Accrington, Audenshaw, Manchester, and Leeds.

Officers attended Mahmood's home address on 14 August 2019 where two vehicles, a VW Golf and a Citroen Dispatch van, were also found and seized. It was then discovered by officers that the Golf had been rebuilt using stolen car parts and the Citroen van was revealed to have been reported stolen from the Reddish area on 18 July 2018.

Detective Chief Inspector Chris Mossop, of GMP's Operation Challenger, said: "Mahmood clearly had sophisticated set up and if it wasn't for the dedication of GMP's officers, Mahmood's handling may have long continued. We're pleased he has been brought to justice.

"We remain committed to tackling burglary and targeting those responsible of stealing cars and handling them. A lot of the work we do to tackle the issue may not be visible but catching those responsible remains one of our priorities.

"Cars are of both great value and sentimental value to some people and we understand that having a car stolen can have a huge impact both financially and emotionally.

"We constantly monitor the number of burglaries across Greater Manchester and information is continuously gathered and acted upon. Teams from across GMP work together to deter, disrupt, and ultimately dismantle organised crime groups on a daily basis.

"Officers from GMP's Tactical Vehicle Intercept Unit (TVIU) along with other teams use both covert and marked cars, as well as ANPR technology, to catch who we believed to be burglars and robbers in cars thought to be stolen.

"Stolen vehicles is a national issue and we continuously work with colleagues across the UK to tackle the problem and there are a number of investigations and lines of enquiry on-going.

"We will continue to work to bring offenders to justice, but I would ask that residents help us to help them by following our simple advice - do not leave your car keys on show or where they can easily be reached when at home, always keep your windows and doors locked and for anyone who has a steering lock, I would encourage you to use it.

"There are also other ways to help keep your car safe such as investing in a tracking device.

"Anyone with information about car thefts or anyone who believes suspicious activity is taking place at premises' can call 101 or alternatively, contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111."