Convicted fraudster Zahid Khan flown back to UK to start 10-year prison sentence

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This is the moment a convicted Birmingham fraudster who fled to Dubai was finally brought home to start a 10 year prison sentence.

Zahid Khan fled to the Middle East during his 2018 trial where he was eventually convicted of running a car number plate scam that promised to net him £500,000.

Khan jumped bail and fled, leaving relatives to take the rap for his crimes.

Now aged 38, Khan was the high-profile ringleader of a group that stole the rights to high-value personalised plates.

He was found guilty in his absence and given a 10-year prison sentence.

Later the same year, he was convicted in his absence of people smuggling after bringing illegal Afghan immigrants into the UK. 

Khan was stopped at Dover on 8 November 2015 in a BMW being driven in convoy with a HGV − registered to his business − in which five Afghan nationals were found hiding amongst a load of tyres.

Khan’s number plate fraud was run by fraudulently obtaining DVLA paperwork that enabled the gang to transfer ownership of five high-value number plates − 2K, 8G, 9H, 9J and C1 − without the owners’ knowledge.

Khan, originally from Yardley Wood Road in Moseley, sold the 2K plate for £85,000 to an unwitting customer and was in the process of cashing in on the others having approached a specialist Black Country dealer offering 8G and 9H for sale.

They provisionally agreed a price until a salesman contacted a past customer to see if they’d be interested in buying 8G − only to be told they already owned the plate and it was adorning a car on their driveway.

We also uncovered evidence linking him to six stolen cars being run on false plates.

Since his conviction we’ve been working with Interpol and overseas law enforcement agencies to bring him back to the UK to face justice.

Khan was arrested by Turkish authorities on 27 November last year and on 22 December he was deported. 

Newly released body worn video shows the moment he was arrested at Manchester Airport by our officers, before being taken back to the West Midlands.

He has now admitted failing to appear at court and at Stafford Court today he was jailed for four weeks, which he will serve consecutively with his 10-year sentence, which he began serving the day after his return to the UK.

Det Sgt Rob Piper investigated the original fraud, and has overseen our efforts to bring Khan back to the UK.

He said: “Khan portrayed the image of a legitimate businessman and a multi-millionaire, but in reality he is a career criminal and a con artist. 

“While a fugitive, he would regularly use social media to taunt police and protest his innocence, but we worked tirelessly to ensure he was brought back to the UK to face the consequences of his crimes. 

“We are relentless in our work to bring serious and organised criminals to justice, and this shows that we can reach beyond the UK where necessary and will work with partners around the world to bring offenders to justice.”