SOCIALITE TARA'S CAR STOLEN BY GANG
ABOVE: Tara Palmer Tomkinson's car was stolen by a gang
A multi-million pound "car-ringing" gang stole socialite Tara Palmer-Tomkinson's BMW in a Gone in 60 Seconds blitz on luxury "must haves", a court heard.
London's Southwark Crown Court heard the socialite's BMW 645 convertible worth £50,000, first attracted the gang's attention when they saw it parked outside her London home.
A "replacement" key from a Stuttgart dealer was used to steal it in October 2005.
Francis Sheridan, prosecuting, said the high-powered vehicle, later found at Birmingham City Airport, was one of just six recovered from the 34 to fall into the crooks' clutches. The others remain with unidentified new owners, most of whom are believed to have paid "near market value" for them.
Some of the socialite's possessions left in the BMW were later found on 29-year-old gang leader Imran Ganchi's coffee table after his arrest. They included correspondence and a jeweller's receipt.
The barrister said the gang's three-and-a-half year operation also saw Porsches, Mercedes, Range Rovers and Toyota Land Cruisers fall into their clutches. The most valuable car taken was a £350,000 SLR McLaren supercar, thought to be the first of its type stolen in England.
Convinced they were untouchable, the thieves even filmed themselves at the wheels of some their high-powered heists - helpfully providing officers with a wealth of incriminating evidence. One of the mobile phone productions starred 21-year-old Yusef Kaduji behind the hand-stitched leather steering wheel of the 208mph McLaren.
Apart from Miss Palmer-Tomkinson, owners included both diplomats and a number of other unnamed "high profilers".
In the dock were mastermind Ganchi, 29, from Ilford, Essex; Shazad Hussain, 31, of Birmingham; Shakeel Shoukat, 21, of east London; Hameed Nawaz, 31, of Bedfordshire, and Kaduji, of Forest Gate.
They variously admitted a number of conspiracies involving both car thefts and money laundering between June 1 2003 and January 1 this year. Judge Peter Testar will sentence them next Friday.
dailystar
