It included fake emails pretending to be from official courts
A South London man has been convicted for his part in a ‘sophisticated’ prison escape. The crafty plot led to one of three people wrongly released from HMP Chelmsford in 2023.
Junead Ahmed was convicted of fraud two years ago after he admitted he had pretended a doctor so he could rent a property above his pay grade and buy a house worth more than £2 million. In June 2023, the 36-year-old was waiting to be sentenced, having been held on remand at HMP Chelmsford.
But on June 21, the prison received a fake email claiming to be from the Royal Courts of Justice, which claimed Ahmed was to be bailed. The email was processed and Ahmed was released the same day.
However the prison received two more dodgy emails the next day which included false orders to release Adam Mohammed, 29, of Tooley Street, London Bridge, and Charlie Whittaker. Checks found no such order had been made and that Junead Ahmed had been wrongly freed.
Checks found that Ahmed, from Brentwood in Essex, had made contact with his wife Nazash Akhtar, and Whittaker’s mum. On June 23 cops went to Greenway, Shenfield, to arrest 41-year-old Akhtar, but overheard what they thought was someone trying to hide.
They found Ahmed in the loft and he was arrested on suspicion of escaping from lawful custody. Later in the day, 49-year-old Charlotte Whittaker, Charlie Whittaker’s, was arrested at her home in Bemerton Gardens, Kirby Cross.
Her phone records showed contact between her and numbers linked to Akhtar and Ahmed. Those texts showed arrangements being made for the escapes of her son Charlie, 28, of Low Road, Harwich, as well as Adam Mohammed.
Cops linked Akhtar to a man known as ‘Azid’, real name Aaryan Noor Ali as the mastermind behind the fake orders and email address, under the apparent direction of Ahmed and Akhtar, and sent them to HMP Chelmsford. The 20-year-old, of Monteagle Avenue, Barking, was arrested.
All six were charged with being involved in a conspiracy to escape lawful custody. Over the course of hearings on September 9 and September 10, at Chelmsford Crown Court Ahmed, Charlotte Whittaker, Charlie Whittaker, Akhtar and Noor Ali admitted conspiracy to escaper lawful custody,
Adam Mohammed admitted admitting attempting to escape lawful custody. Detective Chief Inspector Rob Huddleston said: “This was a sophisticated operation headed up by Ahmed and his wife Nazash Akhtar which ultimately planned to free three men from lawful custody.
“However, it very quickly unravelled when the prison alerted us to what had happened. Later in the same day, Ahmed was arrested hiding in his loft, Akhtar was arrested at her front door and within days, the wider conspiracy was uncovered and those involved in it rounded up and taken into custody.
“This was a complex and challenging investigation to evidence the conspiracy, conducted diligently and professionally by the team which left the defendants no choice but to plead guilty.”
Sign up to our London Crimewatch WhatsApp community for the latest major court updates and breaking news delivered straight to your phone. Sign up HERE.
No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the MyLondon team. We also treat our subscribers to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. To unsubscribe, click on the name at the top of your screen and choose ‘exit group’. If you’re curious, you can read our privacy notice.
