A FERRARI-driving “millionaire pilot’s” secret double life as a rich fraudster and people smuggler has finally caught up with him.
Zahid Khan, 38, is now behind bars after five years on the run living a double life and running a number of ludicrous scams.
BPM MediaZahid Khan fled the UK for five years to Dubai[/caption]
instagram/@izahid1986Khan portrayed himself on social media as highly successful and wealthy[/caption]
BPM MediaThe Ferrari 458 Spider belonging to Khan parked outside Birmingham Crown Court[/caption]
SWNS:South West News ServiceHe was convicted of running a car number plate scam that promised to net him £500,000[/caption]
From Moseley, Birmingham, he fled to Dubai after a £500,000 number plate scam and taunted police through social media.
He portrayed himself living a life of luxury, driving Ferraris, meeting world-famous celebrities, and being a philanthropist, according to BirminghamLive.
But behind it all was a number of crimes, including property crimes, fraud, and people smuggling.
While on the run in Dubai, Khan had a Siberian Tiger cub, hung out with famous rapper Buster Rhymes, and bizarrely smashed a £30,000 Rolex.
When he smashed the watch he said: “Money is not the only thing in life if it’s materialistic things that make you happy then you will never be happy.”
Six years later Khan is now holed up in prison, finally facing the justice he sought to avoid.
Years earlier back in Birmingham, Khan ran a supercar garage that did valeting, tyre-fitting, mechanical work, and sold motors and was by all accounts successful.
But he fell victim to crimes that appeared to send his life into a tailspin.
In 2014, Khan was targeted by his friend for extortion and blindfolded and held for seven hours.
In 2016, he also faced an arson attack on the business that saw £100,000 of damage done.
Also that year he was found guilty for crimes in a rental property he owned, fined thousands and ordered to do community service.
Khan sought to double-down on the successful image he portrayed for himself and posed with famous boxers, including Floyd Mayweather, and expensive Ferraris.
Khan said: “Floyd is a man full of motivation. We just hit it off and have become good friends. He is very humble and not like he is portrayed in the media. He said to me ‘money does not give you respect, you have to earn it.”
One photo of him outside Birmingham Magistrates Court with a white Ferrari 458 Spider must have rankled cops as months later they impounded it and then destroyed it for a lack of insurance.
instagram/@izahid1986Khan flying a plane[/caption]
Hotspot MediaThe Ferrari was later crushed by police[/caption]
Khan lived the high life in Dubai and partied with the likes of Floyd MayweatherBPM Media
In 2017 he donated £1,000 to a funeral for a baby, but months later it was revealed police had charged him with 14 offences for a £500,000 number plate scam.
Khan represented himself in Birmingham Crown Court and on the day of his closing speech fled the UK for Dubai.
He was convicted of the scam despite being absent.
In December that year, it was revealed that Khan had tried to smuggle migrants into the UK in the back of a lorry while on a business trip to Europe.
In Dubai he lived an extravagant lifestyle out of the arms of the law.
He said: “Scars don’t come easy they come and stay for life every scar has a story behind it. We been bought up in a jungle we can handle any habitat you leave us in.”
But that caught up with him when UK police applied to the UAE to extradite Khan.
He announced that he was willing to come back to the UK and that he was also set to release an album.
He responded by releasing a video of him flying a plane and sued West Midlands Police for destroying the white Ferrari 458.
But as the net tightened, he appeared via video link in Birmingham County Court before fleeing to Turkey
He was arrested by Turkish police in November 2023 and brought back to the UK charged with failure to surrender.
In April this year he appeared in court via video link from prison and pleaded guilty, six years after he had gone on the run.
Zahid Khan timeline
2014: A blackmail gang was jailed after it sough to extort thousands of pounds from Khan when he was ambushed trying to show a £250,000 Rolls Royce to a friend.
2016: Khan’s tyre-fitting business was hit by an arson attack that caused £100,000 worth of damage. He later claimed to have received a £250,000 red Ferrari from a rapper after boxer Amir Khan introduced them.
In November, it was revealed the businessman was renting out a home that was unsafe and unlicensed. He was found guilty of causing acts likely to interfere with his tenants’ peace and comfort, failure to obtain an HMO licence and breaching HMO Management Regulations.
2017: Khan pivoted to wanting to help the homeless, saying he would open a food shelter and provide blankets. It also emerged he was linked to a number plate fraud scam.
Khan also attended court and posed for a photo in a white Ferrari 458 Spider. In April, police crushed the Ferrari after they found it had no insurance. That year he also provided a supercar to boxing legend Floyd Mayweather and posed for a photo.
He then donated £1,000 to a funeral fund for a dead baby to try and repair his reputation. Months later he was charged with 14 offences around a £500,000 number plate scam.
2018: While facing court, he fled the UK to Dubai and revealed his decision in a 16-minute Facebook video.
That year also saw Khan found guilty of conspiring/assisting in unlawful immigration into the UK and sentenced to 30 months at Canterbury Crown Court.
2019: While in Dubai, Khan lived a life of luxury with expensive watches, a Siberian Tiger cub, and meeting American rapper Busta Rhymes at a VIP party.
2020: After emails of Khan goading judges and criticising police were sent to them, the force said it double their efforts to bring him home to face justice.
Khan released a bizarre video saying Britain needed to go into lockdown during the pandemic and also one clip of him flying a plane over Dubai.
2021: Formally sues West Midlands Police for destroying his white Ferrari 458 Spider. He moves to Turkey.
2023: Khan declares he is coming home in a Facebook Live video and is subsequently arrested by Turkish police.
2024: Khan pleads guilty to failing to surrender in Birmingham Crown Court. He is yet to be sentenced.
FacebookKhan moved to Dubai and lived a life of luxury[/caption]
instagram/@izahid1986Khan is now in prison six years after going on the run[/caption]