Jobless, Drug Dealer, Iftikhar Sarwar, 39, from Rochdale, Greater Manchester take advantage of the benefits system after a scrounged £21,000 in benefits and used the money to buy a house.

Iftikhar Sarwar Jailed for 5 years, Pocketed £21K in Benefits And Buy A House in Rochdale

He was on run after being arrested for drug dealing and went on the run for more than three years before he was eventually detained in Italy.

He was spotted by 3 police officers on January 23, 2014 with his car, He get out of the vehicle and went down a narrow pathway followed by the officers in an unmarked vehicle.

When police officer told him, he was a police officer and told him to stop and said he wished to speak to him. But he began to run down the pathway. He produced his phone from his pocket as he ran, but officers caught up to him and he was arrested and restrained.

Sarwar and another man transferred the dirty money between bank accounts to help secure a mortgage on an £80,000 house.

He disappeared in August 2015 but was arrested in November last year after he gave himself up to the Italian authorities.

He illegally pocketed child tax credits by falsely claiming he was the sole carer for his 15-year old daughter when she was in fact living with her aunt.

The offences took place between 2011 and 2014 after Sarwar’s daughter moved in with her aunt in 2008 following his conviction for a previous drug dealing matter.

While his daughter had been in full care of her Aunt from 2009 after residing with her from 2008.

He pleaded guilty to possessing heroin and cocaine with intent to supply, converting criminal property, benefit fraud and a bail act offence was jailed for five years at Minshull Crown Court.