A BLACKBURN man has been spared jail after admitting his involvement in a £100,000 prestige car ‘chop-shop’.

Mubarak Patel, 30, pleaded guilty to two counts of handling stolen goods when police linked him to parts from a number of stolen vehicles.

The cars, which included Audis, a BMW and a Mercedes, had been dismantled at two industrial units in the town, and the parts prepared to be sold on, a court was told.

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Patel pleaded guilty to handling £12,000 of parts including engines, boots and axles.

Preston Crown Court heard on February 19, 2014, police were alerted to a tracking device from a white BMW being tampered with.

Officers visited Patel’s home in London Road, Blackburn, and discovered the device in the rear of a Mercedes A Class parked around the back, along with a tenancy agreement for one of the units which was involved in the scam.

The prosecution said the BMW was nowhere to be seen but a two high-powered Audis were found parked behind the house.

Officers searched his home and found a number of vehicle parts and paperwork relating to a unit in Unity Mill, Pearson Street.

Emma Keough, prosecuting, said: “There appeared to be a garage operating as a chop shop where stolen vehicles were brought in and systematically dismantled, and their parts individually sold on.”

Patel was arrested, but on June 30, 2015, while he was on bail, police were alerted to a stolen vehicle, partially dismantled in George Street West.

Storage units were searched and found to contain parts from a number of high-value vehicles which had been stolen.

The court was told CCTV showed three vehicles regularly visiting the site, including a white transit van bearing the name “Barry Roofing” - driven by Patel.

Another search of his home revealed documents relating to stolen vehicles and £4,470 in cash.

Another man linked to the operation has never been traced.

Judge Sara Dodd, sentencing Patel to two years in prison suspended for two years, said: “You became involved whether through coercion or financial benefit and that continued for some considerable time.

“I am urged to consider your health and the impact on your wife and daughter. They are not my responsibility Mr Patel, they are yours and you have put them in this situation.”

Patel was also handed a two year supervision order and a four month curfew.