Gang members jailed for 'professional and sophisticated’ stolen goods operation

Members of a gang that handled stolen goods worth more than £500,000 have been jailed for their part in a 'professional and sophisticated’ fraud operation.

The investigation by GMP’s Economic and Cyber Crime Unit started in 2017 when a lorry-load of frozen chicken was delivered to a haulage yard in Oldham. 

The chicken worth 75,000 euros had been fraudulently purchased with credit insurance by unknown individuals using the cloned details of a genuine UK company. 

The investigation uncovered 13 companies around Europe that had been defrauded of goods that included milk powder, olive oil, chicken, turkey, almonds, fruit syrup, electronic items and meat in 2017 and 2018. 

The goods were then delivered to locations across the UK having been diverted through local haulage yards, including that owned by Paul Barrett in Rochdale, and handled at wholesalers Manchester Food Traders - now closed but formerly of Wood Street, Manchester - where several people were arrested on suspicion of fraud offences. 

The total amount of goods that passed through Manchester Food Traders was estimated to be between £509,000 and £526,000. 

Devinder Singh (73), of Bramley Close, Swinton; Zakaria Dean (41), of Birkenhills Drive, Bolton; and Mohammad Farid (41), of Princess Road, Manchester, were all found guilty of conspiracy to handle stolen goods following a trial from June to August last year. 

Ringleader Devinder Singh was jailed for six years and six months, and Dean jailed for two years and nine months at Bolton Crown Court today (Friday). 

Farid was given a two-year suspended sentence and 20 days of rehabilitation 

Devinder Singh and Lakhvinder Singh (51), of Bramley Close, Swinton, had been disqualified from being company directors in 2012 for a period of 13 years and their roles at Manchester Food Traders were in breach of this court order, which they both admitted. 

Lakhvinder Singh also admitted two further breaches in relation to two other companies between 2019 and 2020, and was jailed for nine months. 

Paul Barrett (67), of Norfolk but formerly of Rossendale, admitted money laundering before the trial started and was given a suspended 18-month sentence and 100 hours of unpaid work. 

The Singhs and Zakaria Dean worked from Manchester Food Traders and Farid oversaw the transfer of goods from one lorry to another at haulage yards, including in Oldham where he was first arrested in December 2017 

During sentencing, Devinder Singh's offending was described as 'professional and sophisticated'. 

Detective Constable Nicola Veitch Lancaster, from ECCU, said: “A warrant was conducted at Manchester Food Traders and part of one of the deliveries was recovered. 

“The investigation determined that Devinder [Peter] Singh and Lakhvinder [Tiggy] Singh were in charge of the business and oversaw the day-to-day running. 

“Zakaria Dean - aka Waheed Rahman - was employed and responsible for sales. 

“All denied knowing that the goods were stolen, yet the company had arranged for the goods to be collected from the haulage yards and transported to their premises, often in inappropriate and unrefrigerated lorries. 

“They claimed they believed they had purchased the goods in good faith at a good price and did not know they were stolen. 

"However, mobile phone analysis showed that on occasions the produce was being advertised for sale by Manchester Food Traders at prices lower than the goods were worth when purchased direct from the supplier. 

"This was a long and thorough investigation that has seen the perpetrators finally brought to justice."