Three men who were part of a fraud ring have been jailed for a series of courier scams across the county.

Victims in Chorleywood and Rickmansworth were conned out of more than £15,000, with thousands more in other parts of England, after a series of fraud offences in 2017.

A total of ten men appeared at Inner London Crown Court for the fraud offences carried out in Hertfordshire and surrounding counties, and four of the men pleaded guilty while six went to trial.

The men would contact vulnerable people pretending to be police officers and would tell victims that their bank accounts were being used by fraudsters.

The victims were then asked to withdraw cash as part of the investigation and a courier was used to collect the cash.

Detective Inspector Rob Burns, from the Hertfordshire Constabulary’s Serious Fraud and Cyber Unit, said: “Courier fraud has been a significant concern in the county for a number of years. Victims have lost hundreds of thousands of pounds to these scams.

“It can be very difficult to catch those responsible as they are very adept at convincing their victims to part with money and they are often long gone by the time the police are alerted.

“Anyone in a similar situation should be aware that police officers will never contact you in this way or ask you to withdraw money, make electronic transfers or purchase goods and vouchers. If you are in any doubt contact the police on 101 using a different phone.”

Those sentenced for offences of contrary to the Fraud Act 2006 were:

• Sadat Hussain, 21, of Kirby Street, London, sentenced to three years in prison

• Ruhid Ullah, 19, of Portpool Lane, London, sentenced to eighteen months in prison

• Radek Uddin, 23, of Frampton Street, London, sentenced to 12 months in prison

• Mijanur Rahman, 21, of Margery Road, Dagenham, sentenced to eighteen months in prison, suspended for two years, and ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid work

• Muhammod Rahman, 22, of Calthorpe Street, London, sentenced to eighteen months in prison, suspended for two years and ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid work and 30 days of rehabilitation activity

• Waliur Rahman, 20, of Orde Hall Street, London, sentenced to 12 months in prison, suspended for 2 years, and ordered to complete 130 hours of unpaid work

• Jakaria Ahmed, 22, of Portpool Lane, London, sentenced to a 12 month community order with 70 hours unpaid work

• Abdul Mumin, 21, of Dombey Street, London, sentenced to a 12 month community order with 70 hours unpaid work

• Bradley Kisimbila, 19, of Crowndale Road, London, sentenced to 6 months in prison, suspended for 2 years and ordered to complete 80 hours of unpaid work and 25 days of rehabilitation activity

• Ekram Ahmed, 19, of Reapers Close, London, sentenced to a 12 month community order with 70 hours unpaid work