An Express investigation has uncovered links between a network of vape shops in northwest England and an alleged organised crime fixer who reportedly helps asylum seekers work illegally. Dozens of stores are alleged to have used so-called “ghost directors” to disguise their true owners, with some tracing back to Kardos Mateen, previously accused of enabling asylum seekers to work against the law.
Political Reaction to the Findings
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp MP responded to the findings, telling the Express that Labour had “lost control of our borders.” He added: “Organised criminals are making a fortune out of Labour’s broken borders, exploiting migrants, ripping off the public and turning our town centres into criminal playgrounds.”
Philp continued: “Labour have lost control of our borders and lost control of our high streets. It is a complete failure of law and order.” Reform UK MP Lee Anderson also criticised the government, saying: “Our high streets are dying a death due to market forces yet these shops run by migrants are opening up every day. You'd have to be totally blind not to know our high streets have turned into a safe space for crime.”
Accrington's Oversupply of Shops
In May, locals in Accrington, Lancashire, told the Express they were concerned that the town's oversupply of Turkish barbers and vape shops was connected to crime. As the reporting team attempted to ask some of the town's 36 barbers and 14 vape shops how they made money, staff ran from cameras or became argumentative. Many stores had bare shelves, impossibly low prices, and employees who couldn't speak English.
Since that story, the Express has dug through public records and uncovered links between an immigration crime network exposed by a BBC investigation and an address that shuttered its doors in the middle of the day to avoid questions.
Ghost Directors and Burner Companies
Last year, an undercover BBC reporter posing as an illegal migrant recorded alleged fixer Kardos Mateen promising to help asylum seekers set up businesses illegally and to erase £60,000 immigration fines. Mateen told the reporter he could hide owners' identities by paying people to act as “ghost directors” and put their names to paperwork in exchange for taking any fines a business might incur.
The Express found the specific name Mateen offered the BBC reporter for £400 a month, Bryar Mohammed Zada, listed on Companies House as the owner of the same shuttered vape shop in Accrington. Another man, Karwan Jameel Saadoon, listed as owning two identical businesses at that address—described by an expert as “burner companies”—had been transferred ownership of a vape shop in Bolton by Mateen.
At least 36 businesses had been registered in Saadoon's name with Companies House. In October 2024, he opened seven businesses across the North West, including mini-markets in Cumbria and Lancashire, on the same day. Expert Ray Blake said this was an almost impossibly large number to execute the responsibilities of a director and looked suspiciously like the pattern seen with ghost directors.
Blake added: "The Companies Act places certain obligations on you as a director of a limited company, you have to attend certain meetings, there are returns that you have to undertake. It's absolutely inconceivable that an ordinary person with only 24 hours a day available to them can cover that much ground [as Saadoon] across that many companies. The mere fact that he is a director of [so many] for me is a red flag."
When questioned about these “red flags” and his ties to an alleged immigration criminal, Saadoon provided conflicting explanations and claimed he was a victim of identity theft. After the Express travelled to Bolton for a pre-arranged meeting, he fled at the sight of cameras and later called to say the encounter was a deliberate ruse.
Government Response
A Government spokesperson said: “While we do not comment on individual cases, crime should never pay. Those who profit from criminal activity can have their assets confiscated, with recovered funds reinvested in public services. Backed by £30 million of funding, the Home Secretary is cracking down on businesses used as fronts for organised crime, helping to bring offenders to justice and protect our high streets.”
