Blackburn crime boss whose gang stole £2.6m of cars jailed

Police identified Kashif Rafiq, also known as Anjum Nawaz, as head of an organised crime gang

A Blackburn organised crime boss whose gang stole high-performance cars worth an estimated £2.6m has been jailed.

Kashif Rafiq, also known as Anjum Nawaz, 38, of Oozehead Lane, Blackburn, was jailed at Liverpool Crown Court for eight years and nine months.

He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit burglary and conspiracy to steal motor vehicles.

His gang stole cars from houses in Cheshire, Lancashire and Merseyside using cloned keyless fobs.

The other gang members have all been jailed after a series of trials.

Police said the group was responsible for 162 burglary, theft and attempted burglary offences,

'Causing misery'

Det Sgt Darren Hankin, of Merseyside Police, said they were "sophisticated, prolific and causing misery wherever they went".

Police began investigating the organised crime gang in January last year after "an increase in residential burglaries" across Merseyside, Lancashire and Cheshire.

They were assisted by officers from Lancashire and Cheshire police forces.

A Merseyside Police spokesperson said: "The theft offences investigated were keyless entries, in which wireless key signals were cloned, enabling the offenders to open the vehicle on the driveway, start the engine and drive the vehicle away.

"This means the criminal is able to avoid having to break into homes to steal key fobs."

The high performance cars were later often recovered in Blackburn.