Bradford men sentenced over £260k car burglary spree

BRADFORD men were among a group involved in a series of sophisticated burglaries where more than £260,000 worth of cars were targeted, a court heard. Amir Khan, Ibrar Hussain, David Hindle and Shahid Farooq all played a part in committing burglaries at 13 properties in West Yorkshire between October 20, 2017, and December 3, 2017. They were described as sophisticated burglaries where the group stole high-value vehicles after breaking into their owner’s homes to steal their car keys.

Around £260,000 worth of property was stolen during the spate of burglaries and the group was looking to steal German-made cars. Homes were targeted by the group who would either meet up at a location and travel to commit the burglaries or at the properties where they were committed. Entry to each of the burgled properties was via a rear patio, Bradford Crown Court heard today.

The timing of the burglaries was either at night, or during periods of darkness. During some of the burglaries, the affected properties were occupied by their owners. Only two cars were recovered, an Audi RS6, which suffered extensive damage, and a Mazda, which was stolen by the group as an alternative to a Volkswagen Golf.

The team was looking to take out the tracker from the stolen Audi vehicle. A statement was read out from the victim of the Audi RS6. He said the burglary had resulted in him investing in new security equipment at his home, including CCTV.

He has also installed a panic button in his bedroom. He added the Audi RS6 suffered extensive damage at the hands of the group and it was ruined as a result of their actions and he was forced to sell it. He said the burglary had changed his day-to-day life.

The group would also turn off each of their mobile phones before committing the burglaries in a bid to avoid detection. Alasdair Campbell, prosecuting, said: “These cars were stolen to order, or in the knowledge that they would be broken up. This was a sophisticated team.

” The group was all convicted of one charge of conspiracy to commit burglary. Khan, 38, of Priestman Street, Manningham, who was involved in nine of the 13 burglaries, was jailed for three years. He was previously convicted for house burglaries in 2010 and 2013.

Hussain, 35, of Grantham Terrace, in the Shearbridge area of Bradford, who was linked to two of the offences on the same day, was jailed for 20 months, suspended for two years. He was previously convicted for the burglary of a dwelling in 2014. Farooq, 36, a serving prisoner at HMP Lindholme, was jailed for four years.

He was involved in all 13 of the burglaries. After his arrest, he eventually complied with the police investigation, driving around with them in July 2018 to identify the properties he had stolen the cars from as part of the group. He was jailed for four years in 2018 for conspiracy to rob and two years for handling stolen goods, served concurrently.

Hindle, 44, a serving prisoner at HMP Doncaster, who played a part in five of the offences, was jailed for four years. His previous convictions included being jailed for burglary for 54 months in 2014 and a total of seven years – including six years three months for conspiracy to rob – in 2018. All of the men, apart from Khan, pleaded guilty to the charge.

Khan was convicted by a jury at an earlier trial. In mitigation for Farooq, the court heard he admitted his part in the offences during a police interview and complied with officers. Hindle’s mitigating counsel said he ‘knows it is time to put an end to the lifestyle he has been leading’ and he has become a father to twins since the offence was committed and while he has been in jail.

Hussain’s mitigation included that he has sorted his life out since his involvement in the burglaries. He has held a job and got married and become a father since the offences were committed and had stayed out of trouble. Khan’s barrister said he has been holding down two jobs since the offences took place, working as a bodywork engineer in the day and at a takeaway at night.

.