In a busy August for the county’s courts, here are five Hertfordshire criminals who have been convicted this month, including a people smuggling gang who have been jailed for a total of 22 years.
1. Waqas Ikram, Najib Khan and Jalal Tarakhail
Three members of a prolific people smuggling gang have been jailed after one of the members was arrested at South Mimms services.
Waqas Ikram, 41, of Beadles Parade, Rainham Road in Dagenham, was sentenced to nine years behind bars after pleading guilty to three charges of conspiring to facilitate a breach of immigration law.
Fellow gang member Najib Khan, 39, of Medici Close in Ilford, was found guilty of the same charges and also sentenced to nine years, while Jalal Tarakhail, 24, of Eastwood Road, Ilford, was found guilty of one count of conspiring to facilitate illegal immigration and jailed for four years.
Ikram was detained during an National Crime Agency operation at South Mimms services on March 30, 2021, after he was caught red-handed attempting to break into an HGV to put four migrants inside, unbeknownst to the driver.
At the time of his arrest, Ikram was working for a people smuggling organised crime group headed by Mokter Hossain, who was later jailed for more than 10 years as part of the NCA’s Operation Symbolry.
An iPhone belonging to Ikram which was seized following his arrest contained numerous conversations with Khan and Tarakhail, outlining their involvement in a separate criminal network, charging migrants up to £7,000 to bring them to the UK.
2. Michael Hampton
Michael Hampton, of Doulton Close, Harlow, was jailed at Peterborough Crown Court on August 19, having pleaded guilty to one count of harassment with stalking involving serious alarm and assault by beating.
He was also made subject of an indefinite restraining order, which bans him from making any contact with the victim.
Between July 2023 and January 2024, the 32-year-old planted a listening device at the victim’s home, which he used to spy on her more than 600 times.
He also continued to contact her via phone and by turning up at her home following the breakdown of their relationship.
In addition, a tracker was wired into the fuse box of her car so her daily movements could be monitored.
On July 17, 2023, Hampton followed the victim in his car, and when she tried to get away he grabbed hold of her and pushed her around.
3. Michael Cawley
A prolific burglar who hit St Albans home during an eight-month spree has been jailed.
Michael Cawley, of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to burglary and was sentenced to one year and eight months behind bars at Luton Crown Court.
The 26-year-old targeted properties in Luton, Dunstable, Aylesbury, and St Albans during his eight-week spree in 2019, with officers investigating able to identify him via CCTV at each scene.
Before police could arrest him, Cawley left the UK for Ireland and was a wanted person for a number of years. He was finally arrested in February this year in North Wales, after arriving on a ferry from Dublin.
4. Michael Hayes
Michael Hayes, from Edmonton, was sentenced at St Albans Crown Court on Monday (August 19) after he pleaded guilty to a robbery in Hemel Hempstead on Thursday, January 11.
The court heard a woman was walking along St John’s Road at sometime between 4am and 4.20am when 54-year-old Hayes grabbed and verbally threatened her to get into a vehicle.
The victim collapsed to the floor in fear and her handbag was stolen before the suspect left the area.
Dacorum Police reviewed hundreds of hours of CCTV footage, issued a public appeal for witnesses and used automatic number plate technology as part of the “extensive” investigation.
Hayes was arrested seven days later after his DNA was discovered on the victim’s scarf and handbag, which had been discarded inside a bin on Parkwood Drive.
He was initially charged with attempted kidnap as well as robbery, although this was dropped before his trial at St Albans Crown Court.
5. Andrew Wild
An officer who sexually assaulted three woman in a bar in Hitchin has been banned from policing.
PC Andrew Wild attacked the three women on a night out at Osinsky's Bar & Grill in Market Place on March 30, 2022.
The 51-year-old smacked one of the women on the bottom as she was bending over a pool table, before grabbing a second woman's bottom when she was in front of him on the stairs in the pub.
Wild, who was an initial contact officer dealing with the victims of sexual assault, then smacked a third victim, again on the bottom, as they walked to Hitchin Train Station from the bar.
After the officer was was convicted of three counts of sexual assault by a jury at Southwark Crown Court on May 22 this year, Herts police have now decided to ban him from policing following a misconduct hearing.
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