Former police officer sentenced for acts intending to pervert the course of justice

A former South Wales Police officer has been jailed at Cardiff Crown Court for making false reports about a female student at Swansea University that he had become fixated with.

Abubakar Masum, 24, made multiple reports saying the female was involved in drug dealing and had firearms at her property. His false claims resulted in armed officers attending her home to look for a gun.

Another of the false claims was that she was involved in a plot to shoot a man over a debt.

Suspicions were raised when it was noted that the anonymous caller appeared to be familiar with police work, and an investigation commenced.

Following Masum’s arrest, it was discovered he had been using the police computer system to gather information for the calls.

John Griffiths of the CPS said: “Abubakar Masum deliberately abused his position of power as a police officer.

“The potential consequences of his actions were extremely serious.

“Having heard the strength of evidence presented by the CPS the jury convicted Masum and he has been brought to justice for his grave breach of trust.”

Abubakar Masum was sentenced to three years and six months’ imprisonment at the sentence hearing on 13 May 2022.