Wolverhampton Crown Court Sentencing Results

Seyed Taklimi was part of a gang that sold counterfeit and illicit cigarettes and tobacco products from European Food Express in Dudley High Street between August 2016 and December 2018. The gang used secret compartments to hide products, including a ceiling void containing a CCTV hard drive and over 13,000 cigarettes. Inspections revealed ongoing involvement in preparing and concealing illegal goods, with the conspiracy valued at nearly £700,000.

Sywash Mashkhaty led a gang that sold counterfeit and illicit cigarettes and tobacco products from European Food Express in Dudley High Street between August 2016 and December 2018. The gang hid products in secret compartments, including a concrete floor void and an electromagnetic-operated compartment behind a wall, with seizures including over 7,000 illicit cigarettes. The operation involved daily sales of around £500 worth of illegal tobacco, with the total value of counterfeit cigarettes estimated at nearly £700,000.

Zanko Fars Ismael was involved in a gang that sold counterfeit and illicit cigarettes and tobacco products from European Food Express in Dudley High Street between August 2016 and December 2018. The gang concealed products in hidden locations, such as drawers, sacks, and behind ceiling tiles, with seizures including over 13,000 cigarettes. The operation generated significant illegal profits, with daily sales estimated at £500 worth of tobacco.

On July 31, 2024, several offenders attacked five males in a car in Reedswood Lane, Walsall. They used a vehicle to ram the victims' car and then emerged armed with machetes, blades, blunt instruments such as baseball and cricket bats, and a single-barrelled shotgun, which was discharged into the vehicle, causing significant and life-threatening injuries.

On July 31, 2024, several offenders attacked five males in a car in Reedswood Lane, Walsall. They used a vehicle to ram the victims' car and then emerged armed with machetes, blades, blunt instruments such as baseball and cricket bats, and a single-barrelled shotgun, which was discharged into the vehicle, causing significant and life-threatening injuries.

On July 31, 2024, several offenders attacked five males in a car in Reedswood Lane, Walsall. They used a vehicle to ram the victims' car and then emerged armed with machetes, blades, blunt instruments such as baseball and cricket bats, and a single-barrelled shotgun, which was discharged into the vehicle, causing significant and life-threatening injuries.

On July 31, 2024, several offenders attacked five males in a car in Reedswood Lane, Walsall. They used a vehicle to ram the victims' car and then emerged armed with machetes, blades, blunt instruments such as baseball and cricket bats, and a single-barrelled shotgun, which was discharged into the vehicle, causing significant and life-threatening injuries.

On July 31, 2024, several offenders attacked five males in a car in Reedswood Lane, Walsall. They used a vehicle to ram the victims' car and then emerged armed with machetes, blades, blunt instruments such as baseball and cricket bats, and a single-barrelled shotgun, which was discharged into the vehicle, causing significant and life-threatening injuries.

On July 31, 2024, several offenders attacked five males in a car in Reedswood Lane, Walsall. They used a vehicle to ram the victims' car and then emerged armed with machetes, blades, blunt instruments such as baseball and cricket bats, and a single-barrelled shotgun, which was discharged into the vehicle, causing significant and life-threatening injuries.

On July 31, 2024, several offenders attacked five males in a car in Reedswood Lane, Walsall. They used a vehicle to ram the victims' car and then emerged armed with machetes, blades, blunt instruments such as baseball and cricket bats, and a single-barrelled shotgun, which was discharged into the vehicle, causing significant and life-threatening injuries.

On July 31, 2024, several offenders attacked five males in a car in Reedswood Lane, Walsall. They used a vehicle to ram the victims' car and then emerged armed with machetes, blades, blunt instruments such as baseball and cricket bats, and a single-barrelled shotgun, which was discharged into the vehicle, causing significant and life-threatening injuries.

Jetnor Dani was found asleep in a terraced house in Wolverhampton, which was being used as a secret cannabis factory. Police discovered 25 mature cannabis plants in the loft, along with growing paraphernalia and bypassed electricity. Dani had been living at the property for one to two months and was tasked with maintaining the operation, which had a potential street value of between £7,000 and £21,000.

Adam Stevenson exposed himself in his car at The Leasowes park in Halesowen on May 18, 2025, by wolf-whistling at a woman to attract her attention while performing a sex act with his trousers down. This incident occurred in a public place with children and vulnerable people present, and it was his sixth exposure offence. He initially claimed he was undressed because he needed the toilet but later admitted the act, citing personal struggles. He has a history of similar crimes and was released from prison shortly before this offence.

Ari Kerim, 36, of Dudley, and owner of Gustul Mini Market in Walsall, was involved in selling counterfeit cigarettes, vapes, and tobacco products. Despite being warned by Walsall Council Trading Standards officers in September 2022 to remove illegal vapes, he continued the illegal activities. Undercover officers made several purchases of counterfeit goods, and a sniffer dog discovered cigarettes hidden in a secret compartment under the counter. The offences occurred over several months following the initial visit.

Layton Clenton stole a Range Rover from the car park at IKEA in Wednesbury and drove it dangerously, failing to stop for police. He was spotted driving at over 60mph on 30mph roads, went through a red light, travelled the wrong way round a roundabout, and drove up the wrong side of the A449 Stafford Road dual carriageway at speeds exceeding 70mph in a 40mph zone. He collided head-on with a Ford Fiesta on September 30, 2024, causing serious injuries to one of the women inside, including a fractured spine that left her in a coma for several days. He fled the scene but was arrested on October 4, 2024, after forensic evidence matched his DNA to items left behind.

Jack Makepeace bombarded his ex-girlfriend with thousands of calls and messages after she ended their relationship upon discovering his criminal history through a Clare's Law request. This revealed he was a convicted sex offender and had a history of serious allegations of domestic violence from previous partners. His actions included making threats to her life and referencing her parents' address, causing her to fear for her safety and that of her family. The stalking occurred between March 11 and 19, 2025.

Philip Walter ran an illegal lending operation over approximately six years from his home in West Bromwich, lending more than £375,000 to 58 financially vulnerable people and receiving over £515,000 in repayments without authorisation from the Financial Conduct Authority. He charged exorbitant interest rates, trapping borrowers in cycles of debt; examples include one borrower repaying £450 on a £300 loan and others feeling scared and intimidated by missed payment penalties. Arrested in October 2023 following a warrant executed by the England Illegal Money Lending Team, Sandwell Trading Standards, and West Midlands Police.

Daniel Clarke, a teaching assistant at a special needs school in Solihull, groomed and sexually abused vulnerable boys with special needs between 2013 and 2024. He met victims through his roles at the school, as an out-of-hours personal assistant, and via a Midlands charity organising activities for children with special educational needs. Clarke played twisted 'truth or dare' sex games, filmed the abuse, kept a list of victims, plied boys with alcohol, forced them to listen to adult content, and manipulated situations like sleepovers and water fights to facilitate the abuse, involving at least six victims.

Bladen Roper encouraged or assisted the group's fake medicines production of counterfeit Xanax in makeshift Black Country facilities with Chinese ingredients. The operation sold over £4 million on the Dark Web to US customers via Bitcoin. Separately convicted of aggravated vehicle taking. Intercepted packages and digital evidence linked him to the enterprise.

Jordan Pitts was found guilty of encouraging or assisting the commission of an offence connected to a large-scale counterfeit medicines operation. The group produced fake Xanax tablets in the Black Country and sold them on the Dark Web, mainly to the USA, with payment in Bitcoin.

Alexander Westwood, a 24-year-old actor from Albrighton in Shropshire, sexually abused five victims, four of whom were children, over an 11-year period. He exploited his minor celebrity status from roles in Netflix's Sex Education and BBC's Doctors to target impressionable young girls during acting lessons. Abuses included touching victims' breasts and vagina, making them watch pornography, encouraging a young boy to touch himself, raping at least one victim on multiple occasions, and forcing victims to act out sexualised scenes. He manipulated victims by threatening to inform their principals and used contracts to continue the abuse, starting from when he was 10 years old with his first victim who was six.

Martin Gordon, 64, brandished a pistol in the street during a heated family argument in Dudley. Police were called to reports of a man pulling a gun on a woman and found him at a nearby industrial estate approximately 40 minutes later. He was discovered with a magazine containing two bullets in his pocket and the gun in his car.

Luigi Cucu, aged 46, from Smethwick, Sandwell, was involved in human trafficking and modern slavery from January 2018 until March 2023, affecting 14 women forced into prostitution across the country. Victims endured physical and verbal abuse, drug abuse leading to debts, financial control, coercive control, denial of medical help, and extreme working hours up to 20 hours a day. One victim was severely malnourished with bones protruding from her skin. The operation generated at least £734,400 from sexual exploitation.

Costela Soare, aged 37, from Smethwick, Sandwell, alongside Luigi Cucu, trafficked and exploited 14 women in modern slavery from January 2018 until March 2023, forcing them into prostitution nationwide. Victims suffered physical and verbal abuse, drug addiction resulting in debts, financial control, coercive control, lack of medical access, and grueling shifts up to 20 hours daily. One victim was so malnourished her bones were visible through her skin. The couple earned at least £734,400 from the exploitation.

Simon Harris, as an employee of J & J Roofing, participated in cold-calling three properties in Stourbridge in May 2019, persuading owners to have unnecessary roofing work done, such as cleaning and painting roof tiles, without providing information on cancellation rights. He was involved in targeting elderly and vulnerable residents as part of the operation.

On May 1, 2024, at 11.40am, Adyan Hussain, 22, of West Bromwich, drove a black Vauxhall Mokka in High Street, West Bromwich, and fired two shotgun rounds at a white Volkswagen Golf driven by the victim, who was waiting to turn right at the junction with Trinity Way. The first shot missed, but the second shattered the rear windscreen, causing multiple oozing wounds to the back of the victim's head, puncture wounds, and pellet wounds to his body. The incident occurred in broad daylight in a queue of traffic and was witnessed by a police officer. Hussain had been dropped off earlier by co-defendant Naveed Hussain, used a black holdall to hide the shotgun and false registration plates on the vehicle, abandoned the car in Oldbury after the shooting, and later collected it with changed plates. The victim, in his 20s, sought treatment at Midland Met Hospital but did not require major intervention. CCTV footage aided identification by West Midlands Police.

On 13 March 2023, Cameron Hancel, a former West Midlands Fire Service firefighter, was a first responder at the scene of a fatal road traffic collision. He took three photos of the deceased on his personal mobile phone and shared them with friends on WhatsApp, while also downplaying the tragic event that claimed the deceased’s life. The offence was discovered after West Midlands Police reviewed a mobile phone that had received his message.