Final member of “highly organised” criminal gang jailed.

 

An early morning routine stop of a suspicious vehicle led to a highly complex and long running investigation into kidnap, drugs supply, and firearms offences spanning Cleveland, Merseyside, Manchester and Scotland.

The final member of the sophisticated and highly organised criminal gang was jailed this week following extensive enquiries by Stockton CID.

Mohammed Rafiq (46) pictured above received an eight-year sentence at Teesside Crown Court last week.

Operation Filton began in the early hours of 17^th March 2021 when Dog Section officers stopped a Renault Clio in Stockton. Four men fled the scene however in the back seat of the car was an injured man who claimed he’d been kidnapped. 

There was also a meat cleaver inside the vehicle. Two of the four men were located and arrested nearby and subsequently found to be members of an OCG in Merseyside.

The next morning a member of the public found a Glock 19 with a magazine containing bullets near where the two men were arrested; CCTV enquiries quickly confirmed the firearm had been discarded by them.

They were charged and remanded with kidnap and with possession of a firearm with intent to commit an indictable offence.

Through extensive investigation - including revisit of original witnesses, phone data reviews, taxi booking reviews and CCTV enquiries - officers identified a taxi journey that transported the two outstanding men from the Stockton vehicle stop to an address in Newcastle city centre.

Further examination of  CCTV footage also revealed coverage from the initial purchase of the vehicle used in the kidnap, and a taxi journey linking two Stockton men who lived at the Newcastle city centre address.

Both men were arrested on the 30^th March 2021 –with one charged and remanded for kidnap and possession of a firearm and the other initially released under investigation until he was further arrested in September.

Through reviewing taxi booking records, location data and phone data detectives identified who had booked the above taxi and were provided with another man who was also arrested.

On him was around £1000 in cash and a silver key – the key to a storage unit at Portrack Lane which he’d leased and inside was £22,870 in a carrier bag.

Officers soon established there appeared to be a pattern of taxi collection and drop offs in Portrack Lane.

On the phone of one of the men arrested in Newcastle officers found a picture of a silver key similar to that recovered from the above man. This key had a container company’s name on the key fob and wording which seemed to relate to an individual container unit in Stockton.

Detectives attempted to gain entry to that container but the key they had didn’t open this container, so they charged and remanded the man and returned to work the following day to obtain formal search warrants.

Officers discovered the contents of the container had been moved to another on the same site, so they secured an additional warrant for that container.

In the meantime, however, police learned that a man had called the container company stating that he’d lost his key and needed to gain entry.

When CID reviewed their information it became apparent this container was linked to the others and they promptly obtained yet another search warrant!

Officers guarded all three containers overnight before searches the next day revealed heroin, spice (and the components to make it), a pill press and other drug paraphernalia in one, and hundreds of kilos of Etizolan pills in another. The third container was empty but displayed traces of powder on the ground.

In all, eight people were charged and either pleaded guilty or were convicted, with sentences ranging from 4 ½ years to 12 years and nine months.

Speaking after the final gang member was jailed for 8 years, Deputy SIO Temp D/I Lynsey Dale said: “This investigation and subsequent period of trials has been long and complex and it was undertaken by a dedicated small team of officers. Last week was the final sentencing.

“We welcome the sentence passed down to the final defendant this week and we thank the CPS and wider prosecution team for their commitment and support throughout the last three years.

“The dedication of the investigation team ensured that a national drugs conspiracy linked to organised crime was identified and dismantled.

“Our focus is and always has been on protecting the public and preventing the detrimental impact of drugs on the communities of Cleveland.”

 

Photo below shows the convicted and jailed members of the gang: