An Oldham man is jailed for four years after Greater Manchester Police officers discover a chop shop and over £240k worth of stolen vehicles.
According to an article at gmp.police.uk (Greater Manchester Police), a man selling stolen car parts on eBay, was caught by officers and later discovered a chop shop. Over £240k worth of stolen vehicles in Bury, Greater Manchester, has been jailed for four years.
Asad Mahmood’s eBay account was discovered by officers in November 2018 and found that parts from late-model vehicles were being sold and subsequently bought by officers who discovered they were stolen.
Following a raid in Radcliffe, officers uncovered a ‘chop shop’ – finding numerous broken down vehicle parts including engines and vehicle body parts.
There were engines and several sets of car seats at the font of the unit. There were also several storage rooms containing various vehicle parts.
It was discovered that the parts seized were linked to 20 vehicles stolen between June 2018 and August 2019 from across Greater Manchester, Leeds and Blackpool.
Officers found and seized a VW Golf and a Citroen Dispatch van on attending Mahmood’s home address in August 2019 in Oldham. Officers then discovered that the Golf had been rebuilt using stolen car parts and the Citroen van was revealed to have been reported stolen in July 2018.
The investigation forms part of Operation Dynamo, GMP’s force-wide scheme aiming to crack down on stolen vehicles and those involved in the process.
Asad Mahmood was jailed for four years (on 9th February 2021) after pleading guilty to handling stolen goods between 23 June 2018 and 14 August 2019.
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.”
Source www.gmp.police.uk
