'Car cannibals' plead guilty to stripping parts from 98 vehicles in 'meticulous' crime spree

Felix Reeves
Sun, 19 Apr 2026 13:20:59 +0000

Two men have pleaded guilty to a large conspiracy involving almost 100 instances of so-called "car cannibalism" across the West Midlands.

Mohammed Khan and Mohammed Haydar pleaded guilty to conspiracy to steal from motor vehicles at Birmingham Crown Court this week.

The duo were accused of targeting vehicles and stripping them for parts, which has become known as "car cannibalism".

At court on Tuesday, April 14, Mr Khan pleaded guilty to all 98 offences, while Mr Haydar pleaded to 20.

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The two men, both aged 23, carried out their offences between December 2022 and October 2024 across the region.

In videos posted by West Midlands Police, the pair were seen approaching cars and stripping them within a matter of minutes.

The duo stole headlights, bumpers, mirrors, bonnets and more, leaving unsuspecting victims unable to use their cars for an extended period of time.

DC Choudhury, who led the investigation, described the two men as being "meticulous" in their offending.

The officer added: "They carefully planned each theft that they carried out, where they would cause serious distress to their victims who were left with vehicles without parts.

"Thankfully, we have been able to put together an extensive investigation which found both Haydar and Khan carried out almost 100 cannibalism offences, and now they will be spending time behind bars."

Both Mohammed Haydar and Mohammed Khan will be sentenced later this year in June.

West Midlands Police's Vehicle Crime Team has been investigating the two men for more than three years.

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As a result of the monitoring, the force was able to carry out multiple warrants at their home addresses, at which point Mr Haydar and Mr Khan were arrested.

Hundreds of hours of CCTV footage were reviewed by the Vehicle Crime Team's investigators, with forensic examinations confirming who was behind the crimes.

The investigation found that the pair would even film themselves carrying out the car cannibalism offences.

Some of these instances were posted on social media, in addition to photos of the stripped vehicles being uploaded, with the men bragging about their exploits.

West Midlands Police worked closely with Birmingham City Football Club after a number of vehicles were targeted outside St. Andrews at Knighthead Park stadium on matchdays.

Some supporters had raised concerns about car crime near the stadium, prompting increased surveillance and action from the police.

The police force said it was "committed to tackling this distressing and intrusive crime".