Essex man sentenced to 5 years in prison after police find remains of 37 dogs
Oaveed Rahman from Crays Hill was running a fake dog rescue
Last updated 20th Feb 2026
An Essex man that pled guilty to charges of fraud and causing animal suffering has been sentenced to five years in prison.
Oaveed Rahman appeared at Basildon Crown Court, with his sentencing including 11 counts of fraud.
The remains of 37 dogs were found at his Crays Hill property, with the 26-year-old being found to be running a fake dog rescue.
The investigation carried out by Basildon Neighbourhood Policing Team, Essex Police, and the RSPCA began last May, when officers received reports about the property.
Through the investigation a thorough search of the property and grounds was carried about and the remains of 37 dead dogs were found, and a number of live dogs were seized.
A "terrible scene"
Superintendent of Essex Police, Leigh Norris, described the scene as "terrible", with officers spending hundreds of hours investigating the scene.
"The scene was terrible, really unhygienic, really squalid conditions, deceased animals in various states of decomposition."
He said the dogs have been rehomed, and the RSPCA has given the force regular updates on the wellbeing of the alive animals.
"I declared it a critical incident on the day, because of the scale of what was going to be the investigation, but also because of the public anger and feeling there would have been associated with this, and rightly so.
"Our neighbourhood policing team have worked tirelessly on this, they have put hundreds and hundreds of hours of investigative time into this.
"We have spent hours on scene, the searches were thorough. We have engaged with members of the public, we've cast the net as far and wide as we possibly can to get that information.
"We have tried our best on something that was really quite unprecedented."
Rehomed animals
Essex Police has released these images of rehomed animals:
In court today...
Basildon Crown Court heard today that masses of bodies were seen riddled with maggots, with rats running around outside.
Veterinary Surgeon Amy Cooper told the court that dogs were kept in pens, and would have faced "mental turmoil" as open bags of food were inaccessible to them.
She said that the smell of rotting flesh could be sensed from about 40 metres away from the property.
Remains of dogs were found in bins, outbuildings and the garden.
Some 21 dogs which were alive were kept in pens or confined to small spaces.
Tom Godfrey, prosecuting, told the court that Ms Cooper said in a statement: "I can honestly say what I smelt and saw was the most horrific thing I have ever seen.
"It was clear just from a general initial inspection that these animals were all suffering."
Faeces was found inside the pens and cages, and many of the dogs were severely underweight but did not have access to food, the court heard.
Victims whose dogs were "rehomed" by Rahman and their supporters in the packed public gallery sobbed as Mr Godfrey told of the condition the animals were found in.
Three of the 21 dogs were so unwell they had to be put down, and one poodle later went blind, the court heard.
Some of Rahman's victims contacted him on his Facebook page for Save A Paw, which had good reviews, the court heard.
He was sometimes paid a "surrender fee" and also accepted "donations" to his organisation, which he told victims was a charity.
Rahman took around £4,800 from his victims, telling them it would be used to rehome dogs, provide a new kennel block or train dogs to behave around children and other animals.
He promised to keep in touch with people about how their dogs were doing, the court heard, but often became difficult to contact and in some cases blocked the people who had taken their dogs to him.
Officers said they spoke to people in 20 counties in connection with Rahman's crimes.
When Molly Pinkus, mitigating, said Rahman had expressed remorse over his crimes, people in the public gallery sighed, tutted, shook their heads and even laughed.
Judge Richard Conley had to ask the court for quiet to allow Ms Pinkus to continue.
He asked her for "some understanding of motivation".
"It is so impossible to understand what can cause a person to do the things that he did," Judge Conley said.
"I can't make sense of it, probation can't make sense of it, the psychiatrist can't make sense of it."