A 43-year-old man in Birmingham, England, was recently arrested and sentenced to more than two years in jail for “washing” used stamps sold by charities and fraudulently re-selling them as new.
Mubashir Khan’s scam was uncovered after he began using the washed stamps on his own parcels—but not before profiting more than £100,000 (about $170,000 Cdn.) between about October 2016 and October 2018.
This October, the court heard Kahn used “a chemical process” to remove cancellations and other postmarks – plus the glue from the back – before drying the stamps to create an unused appearance. Kahn sold the stamps (primarily on eBay) for significant discounts of up to 50 per cent of their face value.
After an investigation by Britain’s Royal Mail, Kahn was arrested by police on Oct. 30. Officers found washing chemicals plus 60 kilograms of stamps, some of which were currently being washed, at his residence.