Three men from Bradford have been jailed for their part in a racket that allowed speeding drivers to avoid penalty points and disqualification by using an innocent Scottish woman’s stolen identity.

Abul Kalam, Kamran Ahmed, and Ayman Ahmed were locked up for 40 months, 28 months, and two years respectively for the scam, which Her Honour Judge Sophie McKone said could have caused “carnage” on the roads.

Bradford Crown Court heard how the points avoidance scheme was uncovered after the victim realised her identity had been stolen and raised an official complaint with Police Scotland.

She was in tears and on the verge of a "full breakdown" as her ordeal progressed.

The force’s investigation was then picked up by colleagues in West Yorkshire.

Prosecutor Laura McBride told the court how, over an 18-month period between September 2018 and May 2020, the woman was bombarded with fines and court summonses for driving offences she had not committed.

Those summonses, for offences including speeding and other road crimes, were traced back to forged documents created by father-of-six Abul Kalam, now 43, who had filled in the victim’s details for himself and seven other people and falsely nominated her as the driver of various vehicles on notices of intended prosecution returned to police.

The woman received “a barrage of court and police documentation” and at one point was taken to court in West Yorkshire causing a great deal of stress for her and her family.

She described her life at the time as “a living nightmare” and later revealed she had chosen to move out of her home after being visited by someone who had been scammed in her name.

She said she was “living in fear”.

The case was heard at Bradford Crown Court 

The court heard how courier driver Kalam used the victim’s identity to avoid his own driving offences – three counts of speeding between June 22 and September 7, 2019 - and assisted others to do the same.

At the time he had three penalty points on his licence and was concerned that he would be banned if he got more.

When challenged by the police due to being caught on CCTV cameras he changed the name of the nominated driver from the female victim in Scotland to that of a male name.

Expert analysis of his handwriting showed he had filled in multiple forms using the victim’s personal details and address including on behalf of his sister and her neighbour.

Others who benefitted from the racket were: Kamran Ahmed, 43, who had nine points on his licence and paid £200 to his friend Kalam to avoid being disqualified after being caught speeding twice. He also told other drivers facing prosecution that they could pay between £750 and £1,000 to have someone else accept their penalty points.

He later confessed to having been paid £500 by one driver, of which around £200 was passed on to Kalam.

Ayman Ahmed, 24, who was studying at the University of Huddersfield and charged other students hundreds of pounds to help them get points removed.

Among them was Nasser Jahangir, 24, who told police he paid Ahmed £200 to “get rid” of a prosecution in which he had nominated the victim as the driver of car caught speeding at 115mph in a 70mph zone.

Munsur Ali, 39, who was caught speeding twice on April 11, 2020, travelling at 85mph and 88mph in a 70mph zone. He later went to the police and admitted he had given his form to a third party.

Alia Malik, 26, who was clocked for two speeding offences on February 6, 2020. In messages between them Kalam said he would “sort it”.

In a statement read to the court the victim said she believed her personal details had been stolen after getting married in Gibraltar. Her ordeal began with demands for private parking fines followed by speeding fines from the police.

It culminated in a car scam in Bulgaria, after which police realised that she was a victim of identity fraud.

She said: “This when I almost had a full breakdown. I burst into tears and showed them a big pile of fines and speeding tickets that someone had been using my name for.

“Then it got worse. A blackmail [victim] came to my home. He had also been scammed by someone claiming to be me.”

She ultimately decided to move out of her house to avoid further confrontations.

Sentencing the group, Judge McKone said “someone, somehow” had got hold of the totally innocent victim’s driving licence, passport, and birth certificate and that they had each joined in agreement to use her stolen identity to avoid penalty points or help others to do so.

She said: “You have, in your own way, perverted the course of justice.

“The roads we drive on have to be safe for the sake of other road users, passengers and pedestrians.

“There are speed limits for a reason.

“There are penalties for those who speed for a reason.

“It is often said in these cases that perverting the course of justice strikes at the heart of the criminal justice system, and that is why such an offence is so serious.

“If everyone did what you did there would be carnage on the roads. People would drive at whatever speed they wanted because they knew there would be no consequences for them.”

Kalam, Ali, Malik, Jahangir, and Kamran Ahmed all pleaded guilty to conspiring to pervert the course of justice by providing false information. Ayman Ahmed was convicted following a trial.

Abul Kalam, 43, of New Fields Walk, Bradford, was jailed for 40 months.

Kamran Ahmed, 43, of Wellands Terrace, Bradford, was jailed for 28 months.

Ayman Ahmed, 24, of Fairfield Road, Bradford, was jailed for two years.

Munsur Ali, 39, of Ashbourne Crescent, Bradford, received eight months imprisonment suspended for 18 months and was ordered to carry out 250 hours of unpaid work.

Alia Malik, 26, of Church Road, Normanton, received eight months imprisonment suspended for 18 months and was ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work.

Nasser Jahangir, 24, of Meadow Park Drive, Stanningley, Leeds, received six months imprisonment suspended for 18 months and was ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work.

Ali, Malik, and Jahangir were each ordered to pay costs of £85.