[Osem]

Eight men from London have been jailed for a phone scam that defrauded UK pensioners out of more than £1m.

Police say some of the money funded travel from the UK to Syria. There are fears some of those who travelled had links to so-called Islamic State.

Gang leader Makzhumi Abukar was jailed for seven years and four months, alongside accomplices including former X Factor contestant Nathan Fagan-Gayle.

Some of the 140 victims - the oldest of whom was 94 - lost as much as £130,000.

Passing sentence at the Old Bailey, Judge Anuja Dhir said that none of the convicted men had shown any genuine remorse.

She told the men their crimes would have a "devastating and lasting impact" on the victims, whose average age was 83.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-36205411

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