By Shawn Henry 
A group of men responsible for a series of high-value vehicle thefts across Lancashire has been sentenced after police used self-recorded mobile phone footage to help secure convictions.
The investigation centered on Hamza Ghafoor, 22, and five other men who travelled from Bradford to Lancashire to carry out a coordinated burglary spree between September and November 2023. The group targeted residential properties, stealing luxury vehicles valued as high as £79,000 and driving them away in convoy at high speed.
Police say the case was significantly strengthened by footage recorded on Ghafoor’s own phone. In the video, he is seen wearing a balaclava, indicating plans to commit a burglary, before later filming himself driving a stolen BMW. The footage was later recovered by investigators and used as key evidence.
The gang came to the attention of officers following a burglary at a property in Langho, where two BMWs were taken. Telephone data linked Ghafoor to the crime, along with Mohammed Zubhir, 24, and Dylan Shuttleworth, 18. Further analysis connected the wider group to nine burglaries across Pendle, Blackburn, the Ribble Valley, Hyndburn, and Chorley.
The stolen vehicles included a BMW X3 valued at £79,000, a £35,000 Volkswagen Tiguan, an Audi Q5, an Audi Q3, a Volkswagen Golf, and a Mercedes CLA 45. Police said the crimes were organized and deliberate, targeting desirable vehicles from residential driveways.
When Ghafoor was arrested, officers searched his bedroom and discovered a Louis Vuitton bag containing 926 wraps of crack cocaine and 319 wraps of heroin. That discovery added to the seriousness of the case against him.
Lancashire Police later shared the recovered footage publicly, noting that the recordings played a central role in identifying and convicting those involved.
Ghafoor, Zubhir, Kamran Ahmed, 23, Denzel Muduma, 20, and Jordan May, 23, were sentenced to a combined total of more than 15 years in prison. Shuttleworth, the youngest member of the group, received a 12-month youth referral order.
All parties are innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.
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