£9m stolen visas woman spared jail

A CHADDERTON woman has been spared jail after being caught with almost £9 million worth of stolen visas.

Shagufta Mahmood (22), of Rosewood Crescent, pleaded guilty at Manchester Crown Court to handling stolen goods. She had 877 stolen visas - worth up to £10,000 each on the black market.

Yesterday she was handed a seven-month jail sentence suspended for two years.

The documents, part of a haul of 3,600 blank passports and 4,500 visas stolen from a courier van in Chadderton in 2008 were found in Mahmood’s loft. They had been on their way to RAF Northolt for transport to British embassies worldwide.

In October 2009, five men were jailed for their part in the theft of the passports and visas. A police operation resulted in the recovery of nearly 1,500 visas and more than 2,000 passports.

Police executed a warrant at Mahmood’s home last June. Mahmood was an associate of those convicted and had previously been in a relationship with one of the offender’s sons.

Mahmood was charged with handling £1m worth of stolen goods - but intelligence suggests that at the top end of the black market they could be worth up to £8.7m.