Sorry, this video asset has been removed.

Video: Staged crash on A2
at Dartford Heath

For the first time in Kent, police have managed to convict
fraudsters involved in a 'cash for crash' scam targeting
innocent drivers.

The gang, based in north east London, circled busy roundabouts
to identify their victim and then forced them to crash into a
car, also owned by them, in a nearby road.

Typically they would use two vehicles, a 'decoy' car and a
second car, both of which contained their own people.

Once they
had identified their victim and had safely left the roundabout in
front of it, the decoy car would induce a crash by making a last
minute manoeuvre in front of the second car. This caused it to
brake heavily resulting in the car behind, driven by an innocent
member of the public, to crash into the second car.

The decoy car that caused the crashes always left the scene
without stopping. This meant the innocent driver was unable to see
the 'at fault car' and left them swapping details with the
passengers of the second car who would pretend to be victims of the
crash.

The driver and passengers of the second vehicle would then try
to claim large amounts of money from the insurance company for
injury and hired replacement vehicles.

Twelve members of th gang have now been sentenced
at Southwark Crown Court.

Of those, 11 pleaded guilty, Syed Kazmi was convicted following
a trial and a thirteenth person had their case discontinued.

The gang were led by, (pictured top to bottom) Shams
Abbasi, 25, of Farnham Road, Handsworth, Birmingham, Azim Tanveer,
29, of no fixed abode and Shahzada Fahad, 24, of no fixed abode,
who would often carry out numerous attempts at the scheme in a
day.

Farhad was jailed for two years, eight months and
both Abbassi and Tanveer were sentenced to 28 months in
prison.

The remaining nine defendants either lent their vehicles to be
used by the gang in the collisions or allowed the gang to use their
details as 'passengers' in the second car in return for a
modest sum.

The gang included:

• Adnan Jamshed, 31, of Exbury Road, Catford was sentenced

  to 18 months.

• Muhammad Naeem, 24, of Grantham Road,Bradford was sentenced to 12 months (suspended fortwo years).

• Malgorzata Koprowska, 34, of Riparian Square, Meanders Mews, Colchester was sentenced to 12 months (suspended fortwo years).

• MohammedShaikh, 42, of Marlborough Road, Slough was sentenced to 18 months.

• Syed Kazmi, 26, of Walton Road, London, was sentenced to 12 months (suspended for two years).

• AsadJaved, 28, of Wellseley Road, Slough was sentenced to 12 months (suspended fortwo years).

• AsadAhmedhi, 35, of Mitcham Road, London was sentenced to 24 months.

• MunirKhan, 28, of Springfield Road, London was sentenced to 18 months.

• FevziPlashniku, 38, of Aubrey Moore Point, Abbey Lane, London was sentenced to 20 months.

If the claims had been successful, estimates show that the loss
to the insurance industry could have been as high as £235,000.

Four of the six collisions the gang were involved
in were staged in Kent. On the 8th March, one took place on
the slip road onto the A2 at Dartford Heath, near Bexleyheath.

It involved them driving eight times around the same roundabout
to identify a potential target and you can see footage in the video
above.



Det Supt John Hollands said: "This organised criminal network had
absolutely no regard for their victims, old or young - it was
whoever was most convenient at that time. They became quite skilled
at locating their victims, circling roundabouts like hawks to find
them, and submitting false claims. Thankfully though, our
detectives have put a stop to their dangerous and fraudulent
activities.



"Unfortunately my team continuously investigate this sort of crime
and that's why it's so important people are aware of it.

"If you are involved in a collision involving two other vehicles
and the vehicle that caused the collision mysteriously disappears,
be suspicious. Do take photographs on a camera or a mobile phone of
damage caused, the drivers and occupants of the vehicles involved
but do not put yourself at risk to this. Then report it to police
or use the RoadSafeLondon page on the Met's website to report
information on offenders involved in this activity."