Gang made £80k from benefits fraud

A gang made more than £80,000 in less than six months in a massive benefits racket targeting West Midland and Staffordshire post offices.

They used dozens of giro cheques stolen by others from Royal Mail sorting offices in London that were each cashed for around £300. The scam was organised by Congolese asylum-seekers who recruited local "droppers" to cash the bent giros at more than 20 post offices throughout the Black Country and Staffordshire as part of a nationwide multi-million pound fraud.

The names of the people to whom the cheques were made payable were altered to match those on stolen bank cards used to 'confirm' the identity of the person cashing the benefit payout.