Four jailed after burglary in Heywood in which man died
The gang will spend a combined 44 years behind bars
Four men have been jailed for their roles in a burglary in Heywood which led to the death of a local businessman.
49 year old Peter Cordwell died of a heart attack while trying to stop a group of around eight men breaking into a storage unit.
He'd confronted a gang of around eight people who were attempting to break into a storage unit at Collop Gate Farm on 28 October 2020.
he storage units were rented out by Peter to several businesses in the area. The unit was later found to cotain around £800,000 worth of counterfeit cigarettes.
Peter was violently attacked during the incident and suffered a heart attack, dying at the scene.
The four sentenced include:
- Ahmad Mirza - (b. 01/01/1985) of Norris Street, Lincoln - sentenced to 11 years in prison.
- Kurdistan Hamid (b. 01/01/1982) of Norris Street, Lincoln - sentenced to 11 years and eight months in prison.
- Saman Ali (b. 26/12/1990) of Belmont Avenue, Blackpool - sentenced to 11 years in prison.
- Ali Karimi(b. 01/01/1984) of Fir Grove, Blackpool - sentenced to 11 years in prison.
SIO Duncan Thorpe of Greater Manchester Police's Serious Crime Division said: "This was a burglary gone wrong, which tragically concluded with an innocent man later losing his life and our thoughts are very much with Peter's loved ones today.
"The defendants formed part of a national organised crime group who would sell counterfeit cigarettes before then locating where they had been stored by the buyer and stealing them back into their possession.
"The violence they used towards the victims that evening was deplorable and shows their ruthless and dangerous mind set.
"We have been committed from day one in ensuring that these people faced justice and we will continue to crack down on organised crime in Greater Manchester".