‘Lenient’ sentence handed to Birmingham teenager who slapped cloned plates on £45k Land Rover stolen from Shropshire drive
Muheed Iqbal was arrested after his fingerprints were found on the plates
A Birmingham teenager who was involved in the theft of a £45,000 Land Rover taken from a Shropshire driveway has been handed a “lenient” sentence by a Shrewsbury judge.
Get the latest headlines delivered straight to your inbox with the Shropshire Star’s free newsletter
Muheed Iqbal, now 19, was only 17 when a Land Rover Discovery was taken in the early hours of June 10, 2024, Shrewsbury Crown Court heard on Friday (September 4).
The teenager, of Eastfield Road, Birmingham, was arrested in connection with the theft when the vehicle was recovered four days later in Birmingham and Iqbal’s fingerprints were found on “cloned plates” attached to the Land Rover, Danny Smith, prosecuting, told the court.
He said the vehicle theft was caught on doorbell footage at 12.45am after the owner realised it was missing in the morning.
Mr Smith said not only did police find Iqbal’s fingerprints on the cloned plates, but cell tower analysis showed his mobile phone was located at the time and place of the vehicle theft in Shropshire.
Judge Deni Mathews told the defendant, who had pleaded guilty to a charge of handling stolen goods, that the presence of cloned plates showed “worrying sophistication”.
But he added that Iqbal had been a young man at the time of the theft and said he would deal with him as if he were still the same age as when the vehicle was stolen.
Judge Mathews handed Iqbal a 12-month community order, which included 15 probation rehabilitation days and 100 hours of unpaid work, telling the defendant: “That’s lenient!”
He warned Iqbal if he offended again in the next 12 months he would be brought back before the court.