Smash mob is caged

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RINGLEADER: Mehmood CRASH-for-cash gangsters who staged 80 accidents to fleece insurers out of

£1.2million have been jailed for nearly 33 years.

The mob would brake suddenly so cars behind would hit them, leaving the other drivers at fault.

They also deliberately crashed into each other away from witnesses so they could manage bogus claims.

The gang ran the scam for nearly three years, recruiting family members and partners to help swindle payouts.

Ringleader Raya Mehmood,

35, from Luton, Beds, was jailed for six years after admitting dangerous driving and fraud.

Fifteen of his accomplices got sentences at St Albans Crown Court ranging from community orders to four years and nine months in jail.

Det Con Daryl Fryatt, of the City of London Police’s insurance fraud enforcement department, said: “This crime gang carried out a series of deliberate crashes showing they clearly had no regard for the safety of those around them.

“As well as putting innocent members of the public at risk directly, crash-for-cash fraud contributes to the rise in premiums for everyone who buys insurance.”

Stephen Dalton, head of intelligence at the Insurance Fraud Bureau, said the mob “plagued Luton’s roads”.