Police have roasted a burglar whose videos of himself travelling to and from his crimes led to his conviction.
Clips made by Hamza Ghafoor, 22 – whose phone was full of incriminating files when officers took it – were key evidence.
Following his jailing this month, officers have labelled him “not the brightest burglar in the bunch”.
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He and co-conspirators Kamran Ahmed, Mohammed Zubhir, Denzel Muduma, Jordan May and Dylan Shuttleworth have now been jailed for a total of 15 years.
The car theft gang had travelled into Lancashire from Bradford, West Yorks, to commit nine burglaries.
Between September 2023 and November 2023, they broke into properties in Pendle, Blackburn, the Ribble Valley, Hyndburn and Chorley, to steal high-value vehicles.
They were often driven in convoy with other vehicles at high speed, and some were involved in road traffic collisions.
Among the cars stolen by members of the gang was a Volkswagen Tiguan – later abandoned but with its sound system ripped out – plus a BMW X3, and the Audi models SQ5, S4, Q5 and Q3, as reported by NeedToKnow.
Also swiped were a Volkswagen Golf and a Mercedes CLA 45.
Two debit cards, later traced back to Zubhir, were taken during one burglary.
Ghafoor’s fingerprints were on a false number plate found inside an abandoned Audi A3 that was stolen.
When Ghafoor was arrested, officers quickly discovered an image of the stolen Merecedes on his phone. He also had a video stored that showed him inside one of the stolen BMWs.
During a search of his bedroom, officers found a Louis Vuitton bag containing 926 wraps of crack cocaine and 319 wraps of heroin.
Ghafoor, of Bradford, was jailed for six years on 5 January at Bolton Crown Court, while the remaining defendants were sentenced at the same court last year.
Lancashire Police said of Ghafoor’s incriminating videos: “The man in the footage is Hamza Ghafoor and he’s not the brightest burglar of the bunch.
“He thought it would be a good idea to film himself before and after committing burglaries in East Lancashire during which high-value cars were stolen.
“The joke is on him though, as this turned out to be key evidence in convicting him and four others of conspiring to commit burglary.”
DC Tom Archer said: “The majority of the offenders in this case were already serving prison sentences for similar offences committed in other force areas at the time of sentencing.
“It is, however, satisfying to know that they will now have to spend even longer behind bars.
“These persistent criminals, who cross borders to commit crime, cause havoc and great distress to many hardworking individuals.
“They deserve nothing less than a prison sentence.
“We will continue to investigate and target offenders from outside our area who bring misery to our local communities.”
Mohammed Zubhir, 24, of Bradford, was jailed for three years and nine months. Jordan May, 23, of no fixed address, was handed three years and four months.
Denzel Maduma, 20, of Pontefract, was jailed for three years and four months. Kamran Ahmed, 23, of Halifax got two years.
Dylan Shuttleworth, 18, of Oswaldtwistle, was given a 12-month youth referral order.
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