Men jailed for £45k vape theft van driver attack

Two men who dragged a driver out of his van before attacking him with a crowbar and stealing £45,000 worth of vapes have been jailed.

Karwan Salar, 31, and Ribar Karim, 35, intercepted the van before the attack in Manchester in January, police said.

The pair were both found guilty of robbery and possessing an offensive weapon and were jailed for 12 years.

Greater Manchester Police said "two violent and dangerous men" had been removed from the streets.

Manchester Crown Court heard Salar, of West Drayton, London and Karim, of Douglas Towers in Bradford, had been driving along Waterloo Road in Cheetham Hill in an Audi A5 when they intercepted a Mercedes van, being driven by the victim.

After bringing the van to a halt, passenger Salar, got out of the car and started to threaten the victim if he did not hand over the keys.

The driver was then dragged out of the van and assaulted with a large crowbar, leaving him with injuries to his arm that had to be treated in hospital, police said.

He had tried to stop the theft of his van by tackling his assailant and holding on to the vehicle, but was eventually overpowered.

The men were stopped a short time later in the van by police on Allison Street in the Strangeways area, close to where the van was stolen after officers traced the vehicle through the built-in tracker.

Officers discovered the van door was wide open and some of the boxes had been moved into the boot of the Audi A5.

The pair were jailed at Manchester Crown Court on Tuesday.

Det Con Elson said: "We would like to thank the victim, who, not only bravely tried to defend his property from these thieves but has had the strength to support this prosecution to a satisfactory ending."

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