Man used more than £700,000 worth of stolen cars to run 'off-the-books' hire firm

A man has been jailed for using more than £700,000 worth of stolen cars to run an "off-the-books" vehicle hire firm.

Chirag Patel was found out after he told police his Porsche had been stolen on 1 February 2015.

Officers searched his address as part of their investigation, and discovered a number of high-value vehicles in a basement car park he had access to.

Patel, from Croydon, had initially resisted telling police where he lived and instead gave his parents' address.

He was in possession of 19 stolen cars worth an estimated £728,000, which he rented out to friends and associates.

The vehicles had been stolen by unknown individuals in London between October 2012 and January 2015.

The cars' identities were concealed using legitimate insurance details of vehicles that had been written off.

During his trial the Patel argued he was a "legitimate businessman" who had "simply been unlucky in obtaining such a vast quantity of stolen items".

The cars were stored at or near addresses owned by Patel, his family, or with others who either looked after the vehicles or rented them from him.

One of the cars in the basement car park had a personalised number plate identical to a vehicle seen outside his parents' house.

Five of the cars had false number plates and were later revealed to have been stolen.

During a search of Patel's property, officers found 26 sets of car keys as well as lists of vehicles and registrations.

They also found machines for accessing on-board computers in vehicles, programming keys and a number of mobile phones, tablets and laptops.

His vehicles were seized along with a laptop stolen during a burglary in Streatham, London.

Police also took nine sets of keys which had been stolen from Jaguar Land Rover's plant in Solihull, West Midlands.

Patel was arrested at his home address on 19 February 2015.

He was sentenced to eight years in prison after he was found guilty of conspiracy to handle stolen vehicles and keys at Croydon Crown Court.

Patel was handed a three-year-sentence, to run concurrently, for possession of criminal property in relation to more than £440,000 of unexplained cash deposits.

He was jailed on 12 October after a five-week trial.

Acting Detective Sergeant Billy Clough, who led the investigation, said: "Patel played the leading role in a sophisticated operation to handle high-value, stolen vehicles, motivated only by sheer greed.

"He even attempted to convince the jury that he was a legitimate businessman, who had simply been unlucky in obtaining such a vast quantity of stolen items, but the jury saw through this and convicted him of being the key player in a significant criminal enterprise.

"I hope this sentence sends a message that those involved in this type of organised criminality will be pursued robustly."