Five men from Islington have been jailed for conning pensioners out of their life savings in a £1m fraud.

The men were part of a gang involved in an “industrial scale” operation which saw them gain the trust of their victims before persuading them to hand over cash to “couriers”.

The victims believed the “couriers” were working for the police on secret investigations into bank fraud.

Victims were targeted in Bedfordshire, Devon, Hertfordshire, Cornwall, Kent and London.

In one case, a 76-year-old woman from Poole, Dorset, was targeted by the group and defrauded of just over £135,000. In another, a 94-year-old man from north-west London had £130,000 stolen after handing it over to the fraudsters.

At the centre of the scam was Makzhumi Abukar, 24, from Holloway, who officers identified as the main organiser and coordinator.

Abukar, along with Achmed Abdulaziz Ahmed, 23, from Holloway, and Sakaria Aden, 22, of Stoke Newington, were linked to the majority of the 140 frauds and attempted frauds.

The investigation by the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command was one of the biggest courier fraud probes carried out by UK police. Officers discovered 16 telephone lines the group used to make 5,695 calls to 3,774 numbers across the UK.

Makzhumi Abukar was jailed for seven years and four months at the Old Bailey on Wednesday, while Ahmed was put behind bars for four years and two months.

Mohamed Dahir, 23, of Finsbury Park, was jailed for 21 months and Yasser Abukar, 24, of Holloway, for six years. Aden was jailed for six-and-a-half years.

Mohammed Sharif Abokar, 28, of Islington, was sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment on April 4.

• Keywords
  OLDER PEOPLE, LIFE SAVING, FRAUD
• Geographical keyword
  ISLINGTON (LONDON BOROUGH), HOLLOWAY