Scammer helped speeding drivers dodge prosecution

The ringleader of a speeding fine scam which helped more than a dozen drivers to avoid penalty points has been jailed.

Khuram Yaqoob provided false names and addresses on behalf of drivers who were trying to escape prosecution for a speeding penalty, Bradford Crown Court heard.

Yaqoob, of Bawtry Road in Doncaster, received thousands of pounds in exchange for his services, with the criminal scheme running between June 2017 and December 2019.

A further 18 drivers were sentenced on Tuesday and Wednesday after either admitting or being convicted of perverting the course of justice.

The Recorder of Bradford, Judge Jonathon Rose, described Yaqoob as “the central figure and ringleader” in the conspiracy.

The scam was only rumbled in 2019 when he was arrested in relation to firearms offences and his mobile phone revealed details of the scam.

Yaqoob, 35, was jailed for three years and four months after admitting conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.

Among the other drivers sentenced were 46-year-old Russell Bland, of Waterwheel Rise, Lockwood, Huddersfield, who paid more than £200 for his speeding points to “go away”.

Bland was jailed for 11 months after Judge Rose said “deterrent and punitive sentences” were needed for those who undermined the administration of justice.

Huddersfield taxi driver Idris Yousaf, 45, was also jailed for six months after the court heard that he could have faced disqualification from driving if he had three more points on his licence.

Yousaf, of Sycamore Avenue, Golcar, paid Yaqoob a total of £290 for him to deal with his Notice of Intended Prosecution after he was caught doing 36mph in a 30mph zone.

A secondary school teacher from Bradford narrowly avoided an immediate jail sentence after he was caught by a speed camera doing 95mph on a motorway in December 2017.

Akib Mahmood, 30, of Wimborne Drive, Bradford, admitted using Yaqoob’s services when he was “naive and stupid”.

Mahmood was sentenced to six months in jail suspended for two years, but he must comply with an electronically monitored night-time curfew for the next six months and do 100 hours unpaid work for the community.

The other drivers sentenced were:

Nosheen Ashraf, 31, of Rushton Road, Bradford, was also jailed for seven months

Waqas Hanif, 33, Lilycroft Road, Bradford, jailed for nine months

Ibrar Hussain, 28, Bronshill Road, Bradford, jailed for nine months

Usman Sulaman, 37, Princeville Road, Bradford, jailed for 10 months

Mohammed Macmour, 31, Bentcliffe Drive, Leeds, jailed for 12 months

Seth Mahmood, 26, Alvanley Court, Bradford, jailed for 10 months

Safina Iqbal, 34, Scholes Street, Bradford, six months in prison suspended for two years with a six-month electronically monitored curfew

Safyan Sarwar, 32, Lindley Moor Road, Elland, jailed for 10 months

Shazad Hamid, 46, Emm Lane, Bradford, eight months suspended for two years with an electronically monitored curfew for nine months

Mohammed Bhatti, 26, Grange Drive, Bradford, jailed for six months

Haroon Mushtaq, 28, Woodlands Crescent, Halifax jailed for 10 months

Qaiser Rehman, 31, Whitby Road, Bradford jailed for 14 months

Mohammed Shakeel, 32, Church Street, Heckmondwike jailed for six months

Billy Thomas-Hopwood, 35, Yewdall Way, Bradford jailed for six months

Mohammed Yunis, 28, Chapel Lane, Bradford jailed for seven months

Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North or tell us a story you think we should be covering here.