Four men charged with breaching car cruising injunction

Rohan Safraz, 27, from Pelham Road, Connor Hill, also 27, from College Road, Aman Kiyani, 21, Bordesley Green East, and Asim Rahman, 20, from Alum Rock Road, all appeared at Birmingham High Court on Monday charged with breaching an injunction in force in the West Midlands.

West Midlands Police officers made arrests on Sunday night as part of Operation Hercules, a specialist operation dedicated to tackling illegal street racing and car cruising across Birmingham and the wider West Midlands.

The arrests were made as officers observed vehicles racing in Birmingham, including Heartlands Middleway, Lawley Middleway, Small Heath Middleway and Bickenhill Middleway.

The cases of the four men were adjourned until January 30, with no pleas being placed.

A spokesperson for West Midlands Police said: "We want to be clear that we won't tolerate illegal street racing or cruising on the region’s roads.

"We are committed to enforcing the car cruising injunctions across the West Midlands and we take a zero-tolerance approach."

Also as part of the operation, a 20-year-old woman was given a suspended sentence after admitting to breaching the injunction when she appeared at Birmingham High Court on January 9.

Rebecca Richold had been caught street racing on Kenrick Way in West Bromwich on September 2 last year, where she had been witnessed travelling 70mph in a 40mph zone.

The spokesperson continued: "We have seen people travel to the West Midlands with the intention of attending these events and the message should be clear.

"If you chose to go out racing and placing other road users at risk on the streets, expect to be arrested and put before the next court available."

The arrests also come with an interim injunction banning street racing in the Black Country, with Dudley, Wolverhampton, Walsall and Sandwell all banning car cruising.

The injunction will continue until the final meeting on February 27 and 28, where it will be decided if the injunction will continue.