Ex-PC jailed for using dead people's bank details

A former Metropolitan Police officer who used the bank details of deceased people to buy electronics worth hundreds of thousands of pounds has been jailed.

Ex-PC Muhammed Mustafa Darr, 39, previously pleaded guilty to two charges of misconduct in public office following a corruption investigation.

He was also found guilty, following a trial, of a further count of misconduct in public office and of one count of perverting the course of justice.

Darr has been jailed for 40 months following a sentencing hearing at Southwark Crown Court.

It follows an investigation by the police watchdog, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), and the Met Police's Directorate of Professional Standards (DPS) into his time working in a response unit in north London between December 2018 and September 2020.

From June 2019 to September 2020, Darr, from Walthamstow in east London, looked up files about himself and accessed the police national computer to view the criminal records of a family member and reports of a friend who had been arrested.

He also passed on confidential information in the police records to friends and people he knew who asked him to on multiple occasions, the IOPC said.

Then in June 2020, Darr stole a laptop and bag from a member of the public's unlocked vehicle after he arrested a man for a driving offence.

In a separate incident, he admitted using the bank details of two deceased people whose homes he attended following reports of their deaths.

Darr was sentenced to two consecutive jail terms of 20 months each for two counts of misconduct in public office, and an eight month concurrent jail term for the third charge of misconduct in public office.

The charge of perverting the course of justice is to lie on file.

The IOPC's director Steve Noonan said: "Muhammed Darr was a corrupt officer and his offending, which spanned several years, was appalling.

"He repeatedly showed a willingness to break the law by accessing police records without a legitimate purpose, which is strictly forbidden, and passing on confidential information about investigations.

"On top of this his dishonesty offending, where he stole from a member of the public and deceased victims, were truly shocking."

He added: "There's no place in policing for corrupt officers and it's this behaviour which significantly tarnishes the public's trust in police. The seriousness of his offending has been reflected in his prison sentence."

Listen to the best of BBC Radio London on Sounds and follow BBC London on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected]