'Corrupt' police officer jailed for using dead people's bank details and stealing from public

A former Met Police officer has been jailed for using dead people’s bank details and stealing items from a member of the public.

Muhammed Mustafa Darr, 39, stole a laptop and bag from a man’s unlocked vehicle while his colleagues arrested him for a driving offence in June 2020.

He also used two dead people’s bank details to spend hundreds of pounds after he visited their addresses following reports of their deaths.

Darr abused his position as a police officer by looking up files into a fraud investigation into himself, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said.

He also accessed the police national computer (PNC) to look at the criminal record of a family member and crime reports of a friend who had been arrested.

The “corrupt officer” was sentenced to 40 months imprisonment at Southwark Crown Court on Monday after pleading guilty to three charges of misconduct in public office.

The incidents took place between December 2018 and September 2020, when he was working for the Met Police in a response unit in north London.

The IOPC added that the former officer also passed on confidential information and explained he resigned in February 2023 shortly before he was charged.

On a number of occasions Darr was requested by friends to access police records about them and other people.

A further charge of perverting the course of justice was agreed to lie on file.

IOPC director Steve Noonan said: “Muhammed Darr was a corrupt officer and his offending, which spanned several years, was appalling.

“He repeatedly showed a willingness to break the law by accessing police records without a legitimate purpose, which is strictly forbidden, and passing on confidential information about investigations.

“On top of this his dishonesty offending, where he stole from a member of the public and deceased victims were truly shocking.

“There’s no place in policing for corrupt officers and it’s this behaviour which significantly tarnishes the public’s trust in police. The seriousness of his offending has been reflected in his prison sentence.”

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