A former Metropolitan Police officer has been jailed after using dead people’s bank cards for shopping.

Muhammed Mustafa Darr, who was previously attached to a response unit covering Enfield and Haringey, was jailed yesterday (September 16) at Southwark Crown Court for 40 months.

It comes after he pleaded guilty to three charges of misconduct in public office after an investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).

The charges related to offences committed between December 2018 and September 2020. Darr resigned from the Met in February last year, shortly before he was charged.

The IOPC probe found that between June 2019 and September 2020, Darr used his position to look up files relating to a fraud investigation into himself.

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

On multiple other occasions, he was requested by friends and people known to him to access police records about them and others, which he did before passing on confidential information. 

In June 2020, Darr was found to have stolen a laptop computer and a bag from a member of the public’s unlocked vehicle after his colleagues had arrested a man for a driving offence.

The laptop and bag were later found in a vehicle parked on his driveway.  

Darr also admitted to using the bank details of two dead people after attending their addresses following reports of their deaths.

He used their bank details to purchase items including electronic goods worth hundreds of pounds.  

It was agreed that a further charge of perverting the course of justice would 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, was 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.”