'Aladdin's Cave' courier is jailed over £635,000 car cutting conspiracy

Birmingham Crown Court heard how police discovered parts from at least 28 high value vehicles stolen across Birmingham and the Black County in Rukhsar Ahmed's Smethwick lock-up.

The courier, 32, was said to have rented the space for the scheme's ringleader Zamir Akhtar - who was jailed for four years and eight months after admitting conspiracy to steal cars in 2014.

Dad-of-two Ahmed's role in the conspiracy was only uncovered after police followed him to the Rolfe Street premises on another matter.

Officers found a stolen £35,000 Mercedes on false plates in the compound and, on further investigation uncovered a building full of stolen parts.

The haul included engines, gear boxes, doors, airbags and door trims.

Ahmed, of Salisbury Road, Washwood Heath, Birmingham, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to handle stolen goods.

Jailing him for 18 months, Judge Richard Bond said: "The police discovered in Smethwick what I describe as an Aladdin's cave of vehicles and car parts.

"You said Zamir Akhtar was a gentleman who asked you to rent some space for him.

"Originally you had no idea what he was doing but then you realised stolen goods were being stored and traded from there.

"Once you had that knowledge you lent yourself to the arrangement to receive stolen goods and a conspiracy which lawyers refer to as fencing."

The network of car cutters, led by Akhtar, stole cars from Birmingham, the Black Country and Coventry in car key burglaries and in one case a carjacking.

Different locations, including Ahmed's compound, were then used to strip down the vehicles before the parts were sold off.

Some of the parts uncovered in Smethwick were found to be on sale on an eBay site belonging to Owen Williams.

The 21-year-old, of Peplow Road, Kitts Green, Birmingham, received an eight month jail term suspended for two years after also admitting conspiracy to handle stolen goods.

He was ordered to carry out 150 hours unpaid work.

Judge Bond said Williams and Ahmed had different levels of culpability within the conspiracy leading to different sentences.

He said to Ahmed: "Without you the other gentleman Zamir Akhtar would not be able to carry on trading in these items.

"I accept you were not the person at the gates watching the vehicles come in or receiving them.

"But simply looking at that Mercedes vehicle stolen in a burglary relatively recently in 2014 with its new number plate, you would have had knowledge expensive vehicles were coming into your compound.

"You did nothing about it, of course you didn't because you were going to make money from it.

"I've been told that vehicle was worth £35,000.

"I am told there were parts from 28 vehicles with a total loss of £638,000.

"The vehicles were stolen not just in domestic burglaries, one was stolen during what was referred to as a carjacking, another example of harm caused in this case.

"You had a significant role in this conspiracy.

"Without you Zamir Akhtar would not have been able to receive the stolen vehicle parts and vehicles and sell them on."

Mt Balbir Singh, defending, said Ahmed had little knowledge of the conspiracy and that he had simply rented the space out for Akhtar.

"He had no idea Akhtar was in the business of being a 'fencer'.

"Some (of the parts) were legitimate. It was one of those enterprises where there were legitimate parts tied up with the illegitimate.

"Any cars that came to the unit that were stolen were at the behest of Zamir Akhtar."