More Muslim Criminality in Britain

More stories of Muslim violence and criminality on the streets of Britain.

• An Iranian illegal immigrant has been jailed over a knifepoint burglary in which a young woman was held hostage in her flat.

A teenage illegal immigrant who held a woman prisoner in her own home during a terrifying knifepoint burglary was jailed for six years today.

Iranian Rahim Rassuli, 18, and three other men forced their way inside after Zoe Howard answered the front door.

She blacked out on seeing the knife and woke up to find herself locked in her bedroom while the gang ransacked the house.

They fled after failing to find any money but Miss Howard recognised Rassuli as a friend of her ex-boyfriend.

He was convicted of aggravated burglary after a trial at the Old Bailey.

The court heard Rassuli entered the UK at the age of 16 but was refused asylum on February 16, 2007.

He remained at large until the burglary at Miss Williams' flat at Avenue Road, South Norwood, on October 13 last year.

Judge Christopher Moss QC told Rassuli: "You forced your way into the home of Miss Howard.

"She recognised you at the front door. You threatened her with the knife. She screamed in terror.

"She and her flatmate Daniel Williams were kept prisoner in the bedroom. The search of the flat produced nothing and you left the flat.

"You were plainly the instigator of this crime. I have no doubt the motive for your offence was money."

Rassuli claimed during the trial that he had never been to the address and insisted he was the victim of mistaken identity.

Defence barrister Sarah Fawcett told the court: "He has been on his own in this city since the age of 16 and has had to bring himself up.

"Perhaps understandably he has fallen into social networks of offenders who use drugs and alcohol and in many respects led him astray."

Rassuli, who has lived at Clifford Road and Wood Vale Avenue, South Norwood, was sentenced to six years in a Young Offenders Institution.

• A gang has been jailed for attacking a jeweller with a hammer then leading police on a high speed chase, speeding through red lights and driving on the wrong side of the road. The press once again reports the sentences given as a 'total' in an attempt to hide how pathetic they are.

A GANG of armed robbers who attacked a Blackburn jeweller with a hammer before fleeing to West Yorkshire have been sentenced to a total of 14 years in prison.

Around 1.45pm on Thursday 23 October 2008, the men entered Rahman's Jewellers on Whalley Range posing as customers. Wearing balaclavas and masks, they threatened the owner, a 31-year-old man, with an axe, hammer and a knife.

The gang, who are all from the Birmingham area, hit the owner to the head before smashing their way out through the shop window and making off with jewellery in a black Audi getaway car. They attempted to set the car on fire before abandoning it at the back of Goldhey Street and escaping in a Fiat Punto at speed.

A driving instructor, who was conducting a lesson at the time, spotted the men leaving the shop and contacted the police. He then instructed the driver to follow the suspects giving police a running commentary until they reached the motorway.

Police officers including the Road Policing Unit, Armed Response Unit and force helicopter followed the Punto down the M65 motorway towards Burnley. Officers from West Yorkshire assisted with the pursuit when the car crossed the force boundary before it was abandoned in Portsmouth, West Yorkshire, following a collision with another car. All five were arrested soon after in the area.

The owner of the shop was treated in hospital for head injuries, a laceration to his face and cuts to his hands. His wife, who was also in the shop at the time was badly shaken but was not injured.

Four of the men pleaded guilty to robbery and a fifth man, Shah Hussain, 29, of Lichfield Road, Birmingham, was found guilty of robbery after a three day trial. He will be sentenced on Thursday 23 July at Preston Crown Court.

Asad Mohammed, 25, of Newton Road, Sparkhill, Birmihgham was sentenced to four years eight months; Mohammed Nasir Khan, 19, of Walford Road, Birmingham received three years four months; Adnan Ahmed, 21, of Baker Street, Sparkhill, Birmingham also pleaded guilty to dangerous driving and was sentenced to three years. A 17- year-old man from Birmingham, who cannot be named for legal reasons, received three years.

Speaking after sentencing, the officer in charge of the investigation DS Mark Winstanley said: "I would like to thank a number of people from the Whalley Range area who had confidence in the police to come forward and assist the investigation. Their role in providing vital information and evidence throughout the case was crucial in securing these convictions."

• A gang has been jailed in the West Midlands for smuggling large quantities of Afghan heroin into Britain.

Three West Midlands men have been jailed with two other members of a drugs gang that plotted to smuggle heroin into the UK hidden inside handmade rugs.

All but one of the men, who are from the West Midlands and Leicester, received a jail sentence of more than 10 years when they were sentenced by a judge at Birmingham Crown Court.

The defendants, who pleaded guilty at a previous hearing, were detained after an investigation by the Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca) into the discovery of heroin imported from Afghanistan.

The 16kg consignment, which was 75% pure and had a potential street value of £1.5m, had been hidden in drinks straws threaded through 25 rugs.

Customs officers at Birmingham International Airport discovered the drugs in January 2008 and alerted the Serious Organised Crime Agency.

Ismail Makda, Asif Khan, Soyab Hansdot and Mohammed Ibrar were arrested in May 2008 in a series of dawn raids in Birmingham and Leicester, while a fifth man, Mohammed Dad, was arrested last December 2008 hiding in a "chamber" cut into the base of a bed.

Makda, 28, of Rowlatts Hill, Leicester, was sentenced to 14 years and five months in jail, while 23-year-old Khan, of Evelyn Road, Sparkhill, Birmingham, was sentenced to 11 years.

Dad, 24, of Leam Crescent, Solihull, and former warehouseman Hansdot, 22, of Quorn Road, Leicester, were each jailed for 10 years and eight months.

Meanwhile, 21-year-old Ibrar, from Fernley Road, Sparkhill, was jailed for eight months for his relatively minor role in the smuggling attempt.

Four of the men admitted conspiracy to import class A drugs, while Ibrar admitted money laundering.