23m chop shop gang jailed at last

DEATH THREAT TO CAR OWNER WHO TRIED TO STOP THEFT

- ANDREW BARDSLEY

AN international crime gang which orchestrated a £3 million 'chop shop' has been smashed.

Prestige cars including Range Rovers, Mercedes, Porsches and BMWs were stolen and shipped off to the Middle East or broken up for parts.

The expensive cars were often stolen to order from driveways at night, or even in broad daylight from shopping centres.

The brazen Oldham based gang were linked to almost 100 stolen cars, taken from across Greater Manchester or further afield.

The ringleader of the conspiracy and a further five men were jailed in January 2022.

Then, a judge expressed outrage after it was revealed that the gang leader, Asif Hussain, had been able to secure a £50,000 Covid loan from the Government to help businesses struggling during the pandemic.

Now, more than two years later, a further seven members of the gang have finally faced justice.

Sentencing, Judge Neil Usher told Minshull Street Crown Court yesterday that the public at large were also affected by their crimes.

He told them: "The public is fed up of having to subsidise your activities through increasing insurance premiums."

The 'chop shops, where stolen cars were broken down, were discovered by police in old mills in Oldham and Bury, as well as a unit in Wigan.

One man at home in Failsworth with his three-year-old daughter was told he would be killed if he went outside to investigate, as thieves stole his Mercedes, the hearing in 2022 was told.