Eight convicted of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice

Seven men and a woman have been convicted following our investigation in East Lancashire into a conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.

On the 11th of August 2022 were called to Birtwistle Street in Accrington following reports Danesh Hussain and a second man had been threatened with an imitation firearm and a knife and robbed. Danesh’s father Abid Hussain later found a phone which belonged to one of the alleged robbers.

In the following months we arrested and charged Raihan Miah, Hilton Mhasvi and Benedict Larbi as part of that investigation. They were remanded into custody by magistrates in Blackburn.

Danesh and Abid Hussain and a third individual did not attend court on the first day of the trial in relation to the robbery matter on the 16th of January of this year. Enquiries found they had instead flown to Pakistan the previous evening.

The case was adjourned until the 24th of January and Abid Hussain did attend court on that occasion. But in the absence of Danesh Hussain and the third individual, prosecutors had to offer no evidence in that case. Mhasvi, Miah, Larbi and two other individuals were acquitted of conspiring to commit robbery.

Further enquiries unravelled a conspiracy between defendants Wahid Hussain, Hilton Mhasvi, Nabid Uddin, Miah, Sandrah Mhasvi to conspire together with Abid and Danesh Hussain to pervert the course of justice.

Our enquiries found that there were communications with phones in prison - largely attributed to Mhasvi - to third parties outside including Hilton’s sister Sandrah, Wahid Hussain and Uddin.

Wahid Hussain facilitated communication between Hilton Mhasvi Danesh and Abid Hussain, through Abid Hussain. He also arranged a three-way call between himself, Hilton Mhasvi and Danesh Hussain.  Sandrah Mhasvi facilitated her brother’s communication with others outside prison, including between Hilton and Danesh Hussin over Snapchat.

Miah and Larbi were aware of and contributed to the conspiracy from inside custody. Working with Uddin, Miah coordinated payments to Abid and Danesh Hussain using a cryptocurrency account.

On Friday the following were found guilty by a jury at Preston Crown Court of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice:

Hilton Mhasvi, 20/03/1997, of Trotwood, Chigwell, Essex

Benedict Larbi, 22/08/1996, of no fixed address

DaneshHussain, 18/07/2003, of Birtwistle Street, Accrington

AbidHussain, 01/01/1972, of Wellington Street, Accrington

Wahid Hussain, 27/10/1988, of no fixed address

Sandrah Mhasvi, 28/03/1993, of North Street, Romford

Nabid Uddin, 02/05/1999, of no fixed address

Raihan Miah, 12/09/1996, of Priory Close, Churchfields, London, pleaded guilty to that charge at an earlier hearing.

DS Steve Craig, from East CID, said: “These individuals all played their part in a conspiracy that sought to frustrate the criminal justice system. Either motivated by greed, family loyalty or a desire to evade justice all eight of these individuals played key roles.

“I welcome the verdict of the jury. I hope the outcome of this case sends out a clear message that we will diligently investigate all reports of crime and where there is evidence that people are actively preventing us from doing that we will gather the evidence to put them before the courts.”

Sentencing will take place across three dates in February.