A NEWPORT man was confronted by three men with weapons and robbed of thousands of pounds it is alleged, after he travelled to Manchester to pick up a car a friend had agreed to buy.

He was one of several alleged victims of a gang accused of conspiring to rob people by setting up fake car advertisements on Ebay and then taking their money when they arrived to purchase the vehicle.

Debra Brooker, 41, Mohammed Nazir, 23, Mohammed Fareed, 48, Faisal Farid, 25, and Maros Petik, 19, are on trial at Manchester Crown Court Crown Square over alleged scams between September 2019 and February last year.

The court heard how people travelled from all corners of the UK - others came from London, Belfast, and Dundee - in the hope of purchasing a vehicle which they had seen advertised on Ebay. 

Prosecutors allege that when they arrived, the five accused, from Oldham in Lancashire, had arranged for them to be targeted at locations in the city, knowing they had large sums of cash in hand.

The jury heard statements from the multiple victims who had travelled to Manchester in the hope of obtaining a new vehicle.

The partner of the man from Dundee who wanted to buy an Audi for £15,000 said they travelled to Manchester with their toddler and had been expected to be met at the train station by the sister of the seller.

When nobody turned up she said: “Something felt dodgy.”

They decided to take a taxi to the agreed meeting point in Gorton to see the car for themselves before deciding whether to buy.

But when they were there she said a vehicle pulled up and “two males with balaclavas came out, one with a machete the other with a knife.”

“The taxi driver did a three point turn and managed to speed away.”

The man from Newport told police he travelled to Sefton Close in Oldham in a vehicle, aiming to transport a car his friend had purchased for £7,500.

He said that when he was there, three men came at him with weapons. The first said “where’s the cash?” and after he handed it over, another said “what else have you got?”

After they left with the money, he called the police.

Another person who prosecutors say fell foul of the scam came from London with his girlfriend and was expecting to buy a Kia Niro for £9,500.

While his partner left the vehicle on Belle Vue Avenue in Longsight with the money two men approached from a transit van and demanded the cash.

He gave them a bag of food, which they thought contained the money, and the taxi driver drove off when his girlfriend got back in.

Another man said he flew from Belfast in the hope of getting an Audi for £16,200.

He was originally told to go to Back King Street in Oldham and later told it was to be picked up at Seymour Avenue in Manchester.

When he got there in a taxi three men came out of a Hyundai attacked him and stole items including the money, a work laptop and tablet.

He was taken to Manchester Royal Infirmary as a result of his injuries.

Nazir of Manley Road in Oldham, Fareed, of Lorne Street in Oldham; Brooker, of Block Lane in Oldham, Farid of Lowvale Drive in Oldham and Petik, all deny the single charge of conspiracy to rob.

The trial, before Judge Nicholas Dean, continues.