A ruthless gang behind a £500,000 stolen goods racket has been slammed with jail time after a long-running investigation exposed their slick fraud operation.
Frozen Chicken Sparks Major Probe
The Economic and Cyber Crime Unit launched their case back in 2017 when a lorry full of frozen chicken worth €75,000 arrived at an Oldham haulage yard. The goods had been fraudulently bought using cloned credit insurance details of a legitimate UK company.
The shock inquiry uncovered 13 companies across Europe had been scammed out of a variety of products, including:
- Milk powder
- Olive oil
- Chicken and turkey
- Almonds
- Fruit syrup
- Electronics
- Meat
These goods were rerouted through UK haulage yards, notably one run by Paul Barrett in Rochdale, and handled at Manchester Food Traders—now shut down—where several suspects were arrested.
Gang Boss Devinder Singh Locked Up for 6+ Years
Devinder Singh, the ringleader from Swinton, was sentenced to six years and six months at Bolton Crown Court on 20th February 2026. Alongside him, Zakaria Dean of Bolton got two years and nine months, while Mohammad Farid of Manchester received a two-year suspended sentence plus 20 days of rehab.
The total value of goods moved through Manchester Food Traders was pegged between £509,000 and £526,000.
Disqualified Directors and Suspended Sentences
Both Devinder and Lakhvinder Singh—disqualified as company directors in 2012—illegally operated Manchester Food Traders. Lakhvinder also admitted breaching bans with other companies between 2019 and 2020, earning himself nine months behind bars.
Meanwhile, Paul Barrett pleaded guilty to facilitating the movement of criminal property and received an 18-month suspended sentence plus 100 hours of unpaid work.
The verdict delivers a clear message: fraudsters handling stolen goods won’t escape justice.
