Luton taxi driver guilty of 2007 rape after DNA match

A taxi driver from Luton has been found guilty of rape after DNA evidence linked him to two unsolved cases that took place more than a decade ago.

Shipu Ahmed, 35, was convicted of raping a 15-year-old girl and a 22-year old woman within the space of two weeks in 2007 after he had picked them up in his black cab.

During the trial the jury heard how on 30 November 2007, between 11pm and 11.30pm, Ahmed offered a lift to the 15-year-old girl walking along a street in Eaton Bray. He took her to a secluded picnic area in Totternhoe Knolls where he raped her before taking her back to Eaton Bray.

The incident was reported to police and the following day a forensic examination of the scene was carried out, resulting in the recovery of a condom which contained some DNA.

Ahmed’s next attack was on a 22-year-old woman.

The victim and a friend got into Ahmed’s car at a taxi rank after a night out in Dunstable at around 4am on 15 December 2007. After dropping her friend off, Ahmed drove the woman to an area of Luton, where he raped her in the back of the car. She reported it to the police the same morning and had a medical examination, where samples of DNA were taken.

At the time of the attacks, several lines of enquiry were carried out to trace the offender, but officers were unable to identify him.

Ahmed was arrested in September 2017 for an assault and his DNA was collected as part of the investigation.

The DNA matched evidence collected during both rape investigations, linking him to the offences.

Ahmed was arrested and charged with two counts of rape and is due to be sentenced on 25 May.