Leeds family jailed for fake gunpoint break-in as part of divorce revenge plot

Three members of the same family have been jailed for staging an armed break-in at their home in a bid to frame the ex-husband of one family member and get him put behind bars.

Dramatic CCTV footage captured the moment a man is threatened at gunpoint on the doorstep of his home in Shadwell, a leafy Leeds village.

Inderjeet Gosal made a panicked call to police at around 10.30pm on 31 July, 2020, reporting that two masked males armed with what he believed to be a gun had threatened him at his home on Ash Hill Lane.

One of the men had pointed what appeared to be a long-barrelled weapon and told him to "stay out of Jonny’s business, stay out of your sister’s case".

Officers were deployed to the scene and detectives from Leeds District CID began an investigation into the incident.

Gosal’s wife, Harpreet, and sister, Hardeep Sangha, were at the address at the time.

He told officers he believed the threat was linked to an ongoing divorce case involving his sister’s ex-husband, Harpal Sangha, who was known as Jonny or Jon.

With the information provided, Harpal Sangha was arrested the next day on suspicion of witness intimidation and held in police custody.

However, when reviewing CCTV footage provided by the family, laughter in the background sparked police suspicions.

Their concerns increased when they found that a CCTV camera in the front garden had not captured any footage of the incident. The home CCTV system only had four other captures for that day compared to 59 for the previous day, suggesting the system had been manipulated.

Between the initial incident and mid-September, police received various reports of threatening phone calls being made to the Gosals and Hardeep Sangha.

Further phone enquiries showed contact between those involved around the time of the calls, suggesting the calls had also been arranged as part of a plot against Harpal Sangha.

Police enquiries identified that the males who had called at the Gosals' home in Shadwell were Kane Allen and Matias Jozio, who were then aged 16 and 17 respectively.

On 26 August, 2020, Inderjeet Gosal reported receiving a threatening call that he had recorded. When police reviewed his recording, officers noted someone could be heard saying "are you ready?" while the phone was ringing, suggesting the call was staged.

On 2 September, 2020, five masked males attended Harpal Sangha’s parents’ convenience store in Huddersfield, which he lived above.

One shouted "tell Jonny to pay" before the group caused £2,000 worth of damage in the shop. This occurred the day before a court hearing in relation to the divorce.

Jozio was identified as one of the males at the scene and enquiries also linked Kane.

On 28 September, 2020, officers moved in to arrest the Gosals from their address in Shadwell and Hardeep Sangha from her home in Holmfirth.

Their homes were searched, and mobile phones were recovered linking them to the calls made around the reported incidents.

An audio recording recovered from Inderjeet Gosal’s phone also featured those involved in the plot meeting on 9 August in Oakwood to discuss their plans.

Allen was arrested on 4 October, 2020, and Jozio on 25 November.

Hardeep Sangha denied any involvement but admitted it was her laughing on the CCTV and claimed it was because her sister-in-law had gone out the house after the gun threat "like she was some sort of hero".

The Gosals gave no comment interviews before providing prepared statements denying any involvement.

Allen admitted being involved in the gun threat but maintained "Jonny" had asked him to do it and then gave a convoluted account riddled with inconsistencies.

Jozio denied any involvement in the threatening calls or damage to the shop.

They were all charged with offences of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice, with Allen and Jozio also charged with conspiracy to commit criminal damage in relation to the attack on the shop.

Each admitted their parts in the conspiracy when they appeared at court.

Harpreet Gosal pleaded guilty only in relation to her report of receiving threatening calls on 7 and 8 September.

The 37-year-old was given a sentence of nine months, suspended for 18 months, and ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work and complete 12 rehabilitation requirement days.

The four other defendants pleaded guilty to the gun threat offence as well as their parts in the threatening calls offences. Allen and Jozio also admitted the conspiracy to cause damage at the shop.

Hardeep Sangha, aged 40, of New Mill Road, Holmfirth, was sentenced to four years and seven months imprisonment, and Inderjeet Gosal, aged 42, of Ash Hill Lane, Shadwell, was jailed for three years and one month.

Kane Allen, aged 20, of The Rein, Leeds, was sentenced to 15 months, suspended for 18 months, with 25 rehabilitation requirement days and a five-month curfew.

Matias Jozio, aged 21, of Amberton Mount, Leeds, was sentenced to 17 months, suspended for 18 months, and ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work and complete 15 rehabilitation requirement days.

All of the defendants were made subject to a restraining order for 10 years prohibiting them from contacting the victim in the case.

Det Insp Michael Herbert, who led the Leeds District CID investigation, said: "The criminal use of firearms is something the police will always treat extremely seriously, and a report of a man being threatened at gunpoint on the doorstep of his family home was a real cause for concern that attracted a significant police response and investigation.

"Those involved clearly underestimated the level of focus that we apply to a serious incident such as this, and we quickly started to have suspicions about the authenticity of what had been reported.

"Despite the dubious circumstances of the gun threat incident, those involved in the plot continued to stage threatening phone calls over the coming weeks and reported those to the police, as well as orchestrating the attack on the victim’s parents’ shop.

"This was a determined campaign to falsely implicate Hardeep Sangha’s ex-husband during what was obviously an acrimonious divorce. Their criminal endeavours caused him significant inconvenience and tied up police time and resources.

"The web of deceit they continued to create required a complex and lengthy investigation, with tenacious work by the officer in the case Detective Constable Kate Hutton over nearly four years, to build a detailed picture of all the evidence that has resulted in their convictions.

"We hope the successful outcome of this case will serve as a clear reminder to people who think they can make false reports to police to target their enemies without the truth being uncovered.

"They may have been laughing on the CCTV clip, but I suspect they are not laughing now."

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