Watch as police arrest fraudsters who scammed elderly Derbyshire couple out of thousands of pounds

Four members of a gang who scammed dozens of elderly victims, including some who were terminally ill or had dementia and other age related issues, and conned them out of hundreds of thousands of pounds, have been jailed for a total of 20 years and eight months.

Gloucestershire police has since released video of their pursuit and subsequent arrest on social media, with Derbyshire Constabulary saying in a tweet: "A gang who scammed vulnerable victims out of thousands of pounds, including an elderly #Derbyshire couple, have been jailed following work by @Glos_Police, our fraud unit and 20 other police forces across the country.”

Mohammed Rahman, Muhammed Maarjan, Muhammed Hussain and Shoriful Islam were handed the sentences when they appeared at Bristol Crown Court last Friday.

The four had pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to conspiring to commit fraud by false representation. Rahman, Maarjan and Islam had also admitted possessing criminal property.

Before their arrest last April, the gang had contacted hundreds of potential victims across the country by telephone, targeting a region for a number of days before moving on to the next.

Once they had found a victim, the offenders, pretending to be police officers, patiently relayed a convincingly disturbing tale of a fraud investigation that had identified counterfeit currency being transferred into their bank accounts.

They were encouraged to go and remove thousands of pounds from their accounts immediately in order to hand it over to a “courier” sent by “the police”.

In total, they conned at least 60 vulnerable victims out of more than £290,000, dating back to 2019, and attempted to contact many thousands more, making around 7,000 calls to potential victims between January and April 2021 – many of whom have been unable to recoup their loss.

Officers from Gloucestershire Constabulary’s Serious and Organised Crime Unit began investigating the gang after discovering a victim in Cirencester.

The team worked closely with 20 other forces across the country to identify further victims and collate evidence, as well as liaising with City of London Police, which leads on courier fraud nationally.

Following intensive work by officers across Gloucestershire Constabulary, a warrant was executed at a property in Theberton Street, London on April 6, 2021.

When members of the gang tried to escape through an upstairs window, officers gave chase across the rooftops, eventually catching and arresting Hussain, Maarjan, Rahman, and Islam.

Subsequent searches found cash, expensive designer clothing, Rolex watches, a Mercedes Benz and an Audi, which were all seized by officers.

Rahman, 27, and of Leirum Street, Islington, was sentenced to six years for conspiracy to commit fraud and two years for possessing criminal property, to run concurrently.

Islam, 24, of Highbury New Park, Islington was sentenced to four years and eight months for conspiracy to commit fraud and two years for possessing criminal property, to run concurrently.

Hussain, 24, and of Collier Street, Islington, was sentenced to five years and four months for conspiracy to commit fraud.

Maarjan, 23, and of James Morgan Mews, Islington, was sentenced to four years and eight months for conspiracy to commit fraud and two years for possessing criminal property, to run concurrently.