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Chip and pin gang jailed
19/ 3/2008
CASH card cloning gangs whose turf war ended in kidnap and torture have been sentenced to a total of more than 50 years in jail.
Police were initially called to probe the ten-day abduction of Raheel Mirza, but they unearthed a card-cloning racket worth more than £300,000.
It was being run from the Snax garage in Atherton and the Aleef garage in Manchester Road, Bolton, and involved the theft of data from 1,249 cards.
The kidnap was sparked after crime bosses in the south decided to pull out of the scheme and Mirza was sent to remove gear from the Snax garage.
Northern gang members lured him to Pennington Flash in Wigan, where he was attacked with a machete, then driven to Leicester and tortured before ransom demands were made and he was released.
Six people were sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court on Monday and six on Friday.
Saqib Razzaq, 30, of Pinfold Close, Westhoughton, was given an indeterminate sentence with a minimum six years and three months after admitting kidnap, false imprisonment and conspiracy to defraud. Anisa Mallu, 28, of Pinfold Close and Nasima Esa, 33, of Anson Street, Astley Bridge, were given two years and six months after admitting conspiracy to defraud - and Yaseen Mallu was given five years and four months after admitting conspiracy to defraud. Mohammed Ali Hajee, 33, of Watersmead Close, Astley Bridge, was jailed for four years after pleading guilty to conspiracy to defraud.
Siddik Abdul Mala, 29, of Sheringham Place, Bolton, was given four years after being convicted of conspiracy to defraud. Tariq Razzaq, 32, from Leicester, was given 11 years and six months after admitting kidnap, false imprisonment and conspiracy to defraud.
Andrew Jordan, 28, of Leicester, was given nine years and six months after pleading guilty to possession of a prohibited weapon and false imprisonment. Imtiaz Patel, 30, of Leicester, and Hanif Ebrahaim, 29, of London, admitted conspiracy to defraud and were given two years and three months' jail.
Faisa Aslam Razzaq, 39, of Sheffield, was found guilty of one count of perverting the course of justice and cleared of another and was jailed for ten months. Kashiff Choudry, 27, was sentenced to three years and four months for conspiracy to defraud.
Detective Inspector Ian Fields who led the investigation said: "This investigation began as a kidnap inquiry but turned into something bigger than we could have imagined.
"We have not only ensured that the people responsible for a violent, planned kidnap are behind bars, we have also disrupted an organised crime group responsible for stealing money from the people of Greater Manchester.
I am confident that we have got the main players in this operation behind bars and this shows the commitment of Greater Manchester Police to combat organised crime and bring offenders to justice."
Officers are still looking for 26-year-old Sheraz Ali Ahmed in connection with this investigation. His last known address is Monega Road, London, but he is believed to be abroad. Anyone who may have seen him, or has any information about his whereabouts is asked to contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
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| Card | Typical APR |
| Virgin Credit Card | 15.9% |
| Egg Card | 16.9% |
| Barclaycard Platinum | 14.9% |
| Barclaycard OnePulse For London | 14.9% |
| Capital One BT Exclusive | 13.9% |
| Company | Typical APR |
| FirstPlus Exclusive Rate | 6.6% |
| Moneyback Bank | 7.2% |
| Alliance & Leicester | 7.7% |
| Halifax (Semi-exclusive) | 7.8% |
| Bank of Scotland (Semi-exclusive) | 7.8% |
| Barclays | 7.9% |
| Provider | AER* |
|
ICESAVE Easy Access ISA |
6.10% |
|
ALLIANCE & LEICESTER Direct ISA Issue 4 |
6.00% |
|
YORKSHIRE BS e-ISA |
5.55% |