More than 130 people have been arrested after a nationwide scam allowing drivers to dodge motoring offences was uncovered by police.
Officers swooped on 11 addresses in Tameside and Gorton last month.
The nationwide scam involved people dodging fines and convictions for motoring offences – including bans – by giving false names and other details.
Detectives believe hundreds of motorists across the country avoided about 2,000 penalty points being endorsed on their licences, with £40,000 in fines remaining unpaid.
Police believe more people will be arrested in connection with the scam.
The racket worked by using a trail of false addresses to delay any prosecution until the court deadline had passed.
When a driver is caught speeding, police issue the registered keeper of the vehicle involved a notice of intention to prosecute.
In the scam, the notice is sent back to police informing them that the driver was somebody else living at an address in Tameside or Manchester.
A new notice is then issued to that address. But when it is received it is sent back again to police informing them that the driver is another person living at another address.
If the case is not brought to court within six months proceedings have to be discontinued.
Flats and houses in Hattersley, Ashton, Hyde, and Abbey Hey were raided by Greater Manchester Police's Road Crime Unit in Operation Crush in May.
During the last fortnight, 137 people have been arrested for perjury offences in connection with the racket.
Sixty one were given a police caution, while the rest are on police bail pending further inquiries.
Sgt Mark Beales, of the Road Crime Unit, said: "At the time of the raids I promised we would be proactive in identifying the culprits responsible, both for the scam and for taking advantage of it.
"The fact we have arrested so many people is testament to that promise and as we continue our investigation I anticipate further arrests will be made.
"People all across the country have taken advantage of the scam which, had it continued, would have seriously undermined the road safety system and that is why we are determined to ensure those who have shown such a blatant disregard for the law and who put the lives of other motorists and pedestrians at risk are held accountable."
A total of 566 false nominations came from within Greater Manchester, with a further 70 false nominations being detected in 21 other force areas. Between August 2006 and April this year, 636 false nominations were submitted.On May 25, 11 homes in Tameside and Gorton were raided by police and two men, aged 39, were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.
They have been bailed until December pending further inquiries.
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i m at a loss why you would nt just take the points??? instead of paying someone to say it was nt you??and risk the chance of it coming to bite you on the backside,and face prison for att to pervert the course of justice??? muppetts
Sixty one were given a police caution, Yet another joke that has cost the taxpayers of britain. Why waste all the time and money to track these criminals down just to tell them off? What a waste of resources.
I take it those issued with a caution have not had to pay the fines and receive the points for the original offences, which in some cases would probably have meant a ban from driving. If any of these people have already got a criminal record then its worth it to them to get a caution instead of appearing in court. It would be ineteresting to hear GMP's view on this or is this.
That is why the U.K. as the only major country in the world does not have any official ID cards; so you can hide your real identity. Fantastic system. My name is Joe Blogs and I claim social security benefit for myself, my wife and ten kids. In reality I am John Brown, am single, and work as travelling salesmen. Who knows? Who cares? Until, I want to go abroad to Europe for my hols; then I have to spend 150 pounds for a passport because I don't have a low-price ID Card which are accepted throughout Europe; they don't really want to see them anyway, cause the rest of the EU has abolished internal borders.
What are computers for? Surely they can check the number of notices and the names, sent to a given address???
Remove the six month deadline as well - an offence has been committed!
Weird....
Not minimising the crime but bet 100/1 they get a more severe sentence than a mugger who's hit a 90 year old or a paedophile who's abused kids.
Justice : don't make me laugh.
Also, may I say. I worked, a few years ago, for a 'Solicitor' who runs his firm on these 'no win, no fee' claims. Whilst offices are based in South Manchester, 98% of claims came from North Manchester and most claimed to be called something like 'M.Singh' who always had a 'relative' also involved.
Just food for thought.
Excellent work by the GMP here. It's just a shame that they are almost guaranteed to be let down by the courts, which seem to be nothing more than a 'revolving door' setup for career criminals who know exactly how to work the system.
Hello,,Do you not ask yourself why do people comimit this type of offence? very simple, if we did not have Speed Camera's & Average Speed Camera's at on nearly every road in the UK, which are only there to steal money off Motorists, nobody would try to hide, Driving in the UK To-day You have to be a very good driver, because not only do you have to avoid other vehicles & people, but you also have another even bigger more dangerous hazard you have to make sure you do not miss a speed camera, otherwis you will lose your Driving Licence, I have been driving for 65 years amd have not had an accident in the last 25 years or been caught by a camera, so just keep your eyes open and make yourself very hard to find and you should survive in our Police State in the UK regards oddlegs from Bury PS Regards to Nick Freeman
[quote name=oddlegs, bury]Hello,,Do you not ask yourself why do people comimit this type of offence? very simple, if we did not have Speed Camera's & Average Speed Camera's at on nearly every road in the UK, which are only there to steal money off Motorists, nobody would try to hide, Driving in the UK To-day You have to be a very good driver, because not only do you have to avoid other vehicles & people, but you also have another even bigger more dangerous hazard you have to make sure you do not miss a speed camera, otherwis you will lose your Driving Licence, I have been driving for 65 years amd have not had an accident in the last 25 years or been caught by a camera, so just keep your eyes open and make yourself very hard to find and you should survive in our Police State in the UK regards oddlegs from Bury PS Regards to Nick Freeman[/quote]
Alternatively, you could switch on and drive within the speed limits..
Driving for 65 years...Not had an accident in 25 years (caused a few though due to sitting in the middle lane of the motorway doing 60 much to the frustration of people who still have the sensory reaction time to deal with sudden occurrences)..
Regards to Nick Freeman?? Absolute parasite..
I bet you even wear driving gloves and a cap....rolling eyes
[quote name=oddlegs, bury]Hello,,Do you not ask yourself why do people comimit this type of offence? very simple, if we did not have Speed Camera's & Average Speed Camera's at on nearly every road in the UK, which are only there to steal money off Motorists, nobody would try to hide, Driving in the UK To-day You have to be a very good driver,[/quote]
Idiot, speed camera's and fines are in existence to discourage individuals from endangering themselves and other road users.
Driving isn't a game, it's a privilege and a responsibility, if you or anyone else is incapable or unwilling to comply with the law then keep off the roads.
REPLY from oddlegs, I allways try to drive within the Speed Limits, but when a lot of roads have one section with a 40mph limit and half a mile farther on it suddenly drops to 30mph with cameras to enforce it, as I do not have a speedo built into my brain, i have to keep glancing at my car speedo,that is the extra hazard, By the way I never wear a Cap, I like showing off my Bald Head, And I have never worn gloves since I gave up driving Motorcycles, I drive on motorways at 70mph (when it is permitted) and only use the outer lanes for overtaking, if you want any more information about me, you only have to ask, I also have to work at 80 as !am still fighting the Scrooges over my Pension Credits & Council Tax Benefit, all the best oddlegs from Bury