A man accused of being involved in ripping off vulnerable pensioners denies knowing his three co-accused in the courier fraud trial.

Arris Qumar told jurors that he had nothing to do with the conspiracy to fleece pensioners out of thousands of pounds in cash and Rolex watches.

The 26-year-old told Teesside Crown Court that he was friends with another man who police are hunting in connection with the alleged frauds but maintained he was not involved in the scheme.

Giving evidence, Qumar accepted that he had been driving around with his friend but had no knowledge of the three other people on trial.

His barrister, Anthony Barraclough, quizzed the defendant about what happened in September 2020 and why he had lied to police following his arrest.

Read more: CCTV showed Darlington pensioner hand over cash to fake cop

The father-of-three said: “I was a bit scared at the time and I didn’t want to grass my friend up.”

Mr Barraclough asked: “Have you got anything to do with this conspiracy?” He simply replied: “No.”

He continued: “Did you have any knowledge or involvement in it?” Again, Qumar replied ‘no’.

Under cross examination from prosecution counsel, Matthew Bean, the defendant accepted that he lied to police about him driving from his hometown of Coventry and headed to London with his friend.

Earlier in the trial jurors were shown CCTV of Qumar and co-accused, Sheronica Davis Mitchell, meet up at a service station just four hours after a Darlington pensioner had passed the cash to the fake cop.

Jurors had heard how the pensioner had been given a codeword to listen out for before handing the cash over the fake officer to be deposited into a safe account.

Mr Bean said digital data recovered from the car, which had been hired by Mitchell, showed the vehicle parked up near to the pensioner's home at the time the cash was handed over.

Police analysis of mobile phone networks also showed the accused had also been in contact with one of her co-accused, Arris Qumar, after she made the return journey to the capital in September 2020.

The victims were telephoned over a number of days by men claiming to be Fraud Squad officers from the Yard who told them that their bank accounts had been compromised, and to replace the receiver and to call 999.

But the scammers had kept the line open, and the victims were then in the hands of fake officers who told them to empty their bank accounts and hand the money over to police couriers for it to be deposited in new safe bank accounts.

Awais Zaman, 23, and 26-year-old Qumar, both from Coventry; Mitchell, 26, from Lewisham, London; and 25-year-old Mya Haskins from Rugby; have pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to dishonestly make false representation to make gain for themselves.

The trial continues.

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