| Taxi Driver Online http://taxi-driver.co.uk/phpBB2/ |
|
| Garage boss jailed after raking in £24,000 http://taxi-driver.co.uk/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=10591 |
Page 1 of 1 |
| Author: | captain cab [ Mon Jan 26, 2009 3:32 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Garage boss jailed after raking in £24,000 |
Garage boss jailed after raking in £24,000 for taking the blame for 120 speeding convictions Abdul Musa charged at least £200 a time to falsely take the blame for clients if they were trapped by speed cameras A garage boss secretly raked in £24,000 pounds in cash bungs - by taking the rap for more than one hundred customers if they were caught speeding. Abdul Musa, 48, charged at least £200 a time to falsely take the blame for clients if they were trapped by speed cameras. Over a four year period 120 customers - many with clean driving licences - went to his mechanics business for help in dodging speeding convictions whilst bringing in their cars for repairs and servicing. Musa's scam went undetected as he spread his enterprise by word of mouth around his community in Blackburn, Lancs. It is believed he got away with his scam for so long because he used a raft of alias and fake driving licences to pay fines and throw police off the scent. Police said he exposed a loophole in the forms sent for speeding tickets which enabled him to create a 'ghost licence' that was difficult to trace by the DVLA. Officers arrested Musa in June last year in a series of raids in which a total of 15 suspects were held. They found five £60 fixed penalty notices, seven notices of intended prosecution and one notice of court proceedings at Musa's home. The action followed an investigation which included studying footage from speed cameras to see who was the driver. Investigations also focused on the origin of the fake driving licences with one line of inquiry that some criminals were sitting driving tests under different aliases. Today, as Musa began 16 months in jail and 12 others were hauled into a court for perverting justice, police said the scam was 'just the tip of the iceberg'. PC Mark Pilkington who led the investigation said: 'This is not just a local issue but a national problem and this result demonstrates our continued determination to take firm action against anyone suspected of lying to avoid speed camera endorsements. 'Whilst we were able to gather enough evidence to put 13 people before the court, Musa admitted that he took the blame for other people's speed camera offences on up to 120 occasions. 'The sentences should send a powerful message to motorists that avoiding liability for speed camera offences is a serious criminal offence and we will target anyone we think is involved in this type of crime.' Chief Insp Terry Woods said: 'This is the first operation of its kind in East Lancashire but it is a huge problem and these arrests are just the tip of the iceberg. 'Motorists should be aware that passing speed camera endorsements to another person is a serious criminal offence and anyone found to be breaking the law in this way will be dealt with robustly.' Preston Crown Court was told last Friday how Musa took the blame for more than 120 speeding tickets between 2004 and 2008, for payments of up to £200 each. Mr Francis McEatee prosecuting said that Musa let it be known that for a payment he would sort out speeding tickets despite him actually serving a drive ban. Musa would tell speeders to name him as the driver of their cars at the time of their offences - and to use a string of aliases he gave them. Mr McEatee said: 'In many of these cases Musa made it known he would take care of the tickets. One of the defendants said that he found out about it from other taxi drivers.' A police investigation was launched after an unusual number of tickets were traced to his home in Cedar Street, Blackburn. The court heard that suspicious officers also began checking images from speed cameras when Musa's address was used. Around 50 police officers from across East Lancashire launched a series of coordinated raids in Blackburn after a major investigation. One man arrested was aged 80. Many of the speeding offences were less than 10 miles per hour over the speed limit and would have resulted in just a £60 fine and three penalty points. Musa pleaded guilty to 13 offences of perverting the course of justice. He at first blamed an employee before confessing. Ten men and one woman who admitted their part in the scam were collectively sentenced to 255 weeks in prison suspended for 12 months and 680 hours unpaid work and an 11th man is due to be sentenced next month. Judge Pamela Badley told Musa 'You made it common knowledge in the community that you could help people with speeding problems. 'You were not helping, you were exploiting the system, profiting from their situation and bringing many people of good character into a criminal operation. 'The remarkable thing about this case is that the drivers went to great lengths to avoid points on a driving license, even though many had no points or any pervious dealing with the criminal justice system. 'It goes to show that when temptation is put before someone to break the rules, they can go ahead without thinking of the consequences.' In mitigation the court heard the motorists were largely customers in his mechanic business. Musa was said to be 'extremely sorry' for what he had done. Yesterday Steve Whitehouse, Project Manager for Lancashire Partnership for Road Safety said: 'The defendants have acutely felt the shame of being brought to court, and put themselves and their families through turmoil. 'They have learnt that being caught speeding is bad, but passing the blame to another person is far worse. 'Safety camera images are very clear and show investigating officers exactly who is driving and at what speed. There is no escaping your responsibility. 'Speed limits are in place to save tragedy on the roads and those that think they are above the law in this way are an accident waiting to happen.' The following drivers were given 20 weeks imprisonment suspended for 12 months and 120 hours unpaid work. They were: Mohammed Arif Butt, 42, of Lois Place, Blackburn, Mohammed Ismail, 36, Granville Road, Blackburn, Mohammed Zakria, 38, Romney Walk, Blackburn, Azher Iqbal, 35, New Bank Rd, Blackburn. Sarah Aslam, 28, Malham Gardens, Blackburn was given 20 weeks imprisonment suspended for 12 months and 12 months supervision order. Ashfaq Shigri, 62, Beardwood Brow, Blackburn was given 20 weeks suspended for 12 months and 80 hours unpaid work. The following were given 20 weeks suspended 12 months and a curfew order between 9pm and 6am for four months. They were Salim Patel, 37, Florence Street, Blackburn and Iftikhar Ahmed, 43, Woodville Rd, Blackburn Mumtaz Hussein, 53, Lancaster Place, Blackburn was given 40 weeks suspended for 12 months and 120 house unpaid work. Mohammed Yusuf, 71, Addison Street, Blackburn was given 40 weeks suspended for 12 months and a curfew order between 9pm and 6am for four months. Mustak Teni, 48, Billinge Avenue, Blackburn was given 15 weeks suspended for 12 months and a curfew between 9pm and 6am for four months. A 12th person Mohammed Rehman, 38, of Logwood Street, Blackburn, is due to be sentenced on 3 February 2009. |
|
| Author: | gusmac [ Mon Jan 26, 2009 3:42 pm ] |
| Post subject: | |
Where there's a scheme, there's always a schemer........ |
|
| Page 1 of 1 | All times are UTC [ DST ] |
| Powered by phpBB® Forum Software © phpBB Group http://www.phpbb.com/ |
|