Ghanaian celebrity designer Leslie Danso jailed in UK for fraud

He was a smooth-talking, self-made celebrity tailor with a champagne lifestyle to match.

Leslie Danso kitted out his famous clients for red carpet film premieres, TV shows and society weddings.

He posed for pictures with actor Idris Elba and his customers included former England footballer Emile Heskey and ex-Premier League star Fabrice Muamba.

Many received free clothes in return for the publicity that their appearances in the spotlight inevitably created.

But none of them knew that, behind his smiles, Danso was a ruthless fraudster and illegal immigrant who used false identities to rent properties across the capital – which were turned into underworld drug dens.

His boutique near London’s Tower Bridge was a vanity venture funded by his life of crime, and he even fraudulently leased six top-of-the-range BMWs.

The Ghanaian now faces being deported – for the second time – after he was jailed for fraud and using counterfeit documents.

Scotland Yard remains unsure if Danso is his true identity, and believes that many of his victims have yet to come forward.