Britain’s stupidest felony? Burglar who FILMED himself making ready for raids and brandishing stolen money is jailed alongside together with his complete gang
A bungling burglar who filmed himself preparing for home raids and driving stolen cars has inadvertently helped police bring down his entire crime gang in the process.
Masked thief Hamza Ghafoor brazenly recorded himself gearing up for break-ins, cruising at the wheel of a luxury car and flaunting stacks of cash.
Cops say the clips became ‘key evidence’ in landing him and his accomplices behind bars.
The 22-year-old, from Bradford, West Yorkshire, was one of six jailed over the organised burglaries targeting expensive vehicles over two months.
Footage shared by Chorley Police shows Ghafoor slipping on a face mask as if preparing for a job, followed by a clip filmed from behind the wheel of a BMW. Another video taken by Ghafoor shows piles of cash.
The gang carried out a series of high-value burglaries between September and November 2023, after travelling from Bradford to Lancashire for the crime spree.
They stole vehicles that were often driven in convoy at high speed, with some involved in crashes.
In one incident on September 11, 2023, a £35,000 Volkswagen Tiguan was stolen from a property in Colne, Lancashire, before it was abandoned following a pursuit. Its £2,500 sound system had been stripped out.
Masked thief Hamza Ghafoor brazenly recorded himself gearing up for break-ins, cruising at the wheel of a luxury car and flaunting stacks of cash
They stole vehicles that were often driven in convoy at high speed, with some involved in crashes
The 22-year-old, from Bradford, West Yorkshire, was one of six jailed over the organised burglaries targeting expensive vehicles over two months
The gang carried out a series of high-value burglaries between September and November 2023
In another incident on October 30, 2023, a £79,000 BMW X3 was stolen from a property in Langho, Lancashire.
The first the victim knew about it was when officers told him it had been involved in a crash in Bradford and was suspected stolen.
DNA from Kamran Ahmed, 23, one of the culprits, was recovered from the driver’s airbag, along with evidence from accomplice Jordan May, 23.
DNA was also left on a lighter by Mohammed Zubhir, 24.
Detectives pieced together CCTV, fingerprints and DNA – with other evidence including a cracked iPhone left inside one stolen car.
The burglaries were carried out across parts of East Lancashire, including Pendle, Blackburn, the Ribble Valley, Hyndburn and Chorley.
When officers arrested Ghafoor, they found incriminating evidence on his phone – including pictures of a stolen Mercedes.
During a search of his bedroom, cops found a Louis Vuitton bag packed with hundreds of wraps of crack cocaine and heroin.
Denzel Maduma, 20, of Thorpe Audlin, Pontefract, was jailed for three years and four months
Jordan May, 23, of no fixed address, was jailed for three years and four months
Mohammed Zubhir, 24, of Clayton Road, Bradford, was jailed for three years and nine months
Kamran Ahmed, 23, of Thorpe Street, Halifax was jailed for two years
In total, the gang was jailed for 15 years.
Hamza Ghafoor, 22, of Sunderland Road, Bradford, was jailed for six years.
Mohammed Zubhir, 24, of Clayton Road, Bradford, was jailed for three years and nine months.
Jordan May, 23, of no fixed address, was jailed for three years and four months.
Denzel Maduma, 20, of Thorpe Audlin, Pontefract, was jailed for three years and four months.
Kamran Ahmed, 23, of Thorpe Street, Halifax was jailed for two years.
Dylan Shuttleworth, 18, of Trinity Street, Oswaldtwistle, was given a 12-month youth referral order.
Ghafoor was jailed on January 5th, while the others were sentenced last year.
A spokesperson for Chorley Police said Ghafoor was ‘not the brightest burglar of the bunch’.
They added: ‘He thought it would be a good idea to film himself before and after committing burglaries in East Lancashire during which high value cars were stolen.
‘The joke is on him though, as this turned out to be key evidence in convicting him and four others of conspiring to commit burglary.’
DC Tom Archer said: ‘The majority of the offenders in this case were already serving prison sentences for similar offences committed in other force areas at the time of sentencing.
‘It is, however, satisfying to know that they will now have to spend even longer behind bars.’
