Six men have been sentenced to more than 30 years in prison after posing as police officers and stealing hundreds of thousands of pounds from trusting members of the public.
Steven Nutting, aged 31-years-old, was sentenced to six years and six months at Leicester Crown Court yesterday.
The five other men, Wayne Vakani, aged 29, Shraine Tumber, aged 30, Ibrahim Razak, aged 29, Dale Robinson, aged 27, and Benjamin Chisholm, aged 29, all from Leicestershire, were all sentenced at Northampton Crown Court at an earlier hearing, in July.
Between September 2009 and May 2010, the group committed seven burglaries, five in Leicester, one in Northamptonshire and one in Nottingham. During the incidents they posed as police officers and on one occasion a tax officer, targeting businesses and members of the public at their home addresses.
The men, in groups of three to five, approached the victims and told them that they were being investigated by police for offences including drugs, illegal immigration, tax offences and firearms. They were then threatened with arrest if they didn’t cooperate.
Police say victims had their hands tied, their heads covered and were told they would be shot if they did not co-operate.
They would then go on to steal large quantities of cash, jewellery and electronic goods claiming that it would all form part of the investigation. The value of the cash and property taken during the offences culminated to over £200,000.
Officers investigating the incidents soon began to make the links between the offences and a thorough investigation was carried out by Leicestershire Police officers, supported by colleagues in Nottinghamshire Police and Northamptonshire Police.
In July 2010, detectives began carrying out warrants at addresses across Leicester to locate the offenders and gather evidence. All six men were then arrested and charged over the course of the next four months.
Detective Constable Gary Dickinson, who led the investigation, said: “This has been a lengthy but ultimately successful investigation which has resulted in the sentencing of the last of these six men. These men carried out offences which terrified the victims involved, who at the time truly believed that they had nowhere to turn.
“Almost all of the victims had their hands tied, some had their heads covered and one was told he would be shot if he didn’t co-operate. These men acted with only their own gain in mind, threatening harmless members of the public in such a terrifying way that they were left traumatised by their actions.
“Although the offenders tried to appear professional, with false identification cards, stab vests and hand held radios, the victims soon realised that they were not who they said they were. They then immediately called police and worked with us to locate them. It’s through the actions of those victims that we have been able to get the results we have seen today.”
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