by A father and son who hired a hijab-wearing female assassin to carry out a gun attack have been jailed after their murder plot was bungled.
Mohammed Aslam, 58, and Mohammed Nabil Nazir, 30, from Derby, carried out the attack on a rival family in September 2019.
The suspected killer, a US woman identified during the trial as Aimee Betro, threatened Sikander Ali with a gun and tried to shoot him at a range of six to seven yards but the pistol went in, allowing him to escape from the site in Measham. Grove, Birmingham.
The trial was told that Betro traveled from the United States to the United Kingdom to carry out the revenge attack, and allegedly wore a hijab to disguise it.
Betro still faces criminal proceedings in the UK as extradition proceedings continue.
The actual target of the attack is thought to have been Mr Ali’s father, Aslat Mahumad, who lived nearby, and whose house was shot three times through the upstairs windows later that night, even though it was empty at the time.
Before his house was shot, an attempt was made to entice Mr Mahumad to meet the group on the pretense that they were interested in buying a car from him, but he did not go.
Birmingham Crown Court heard there was a history of “antagonism and resentment” between the defendants’ families and Mr Mahumad, including a violent altercation at the latter’s clothes shop on Alum Rock Road in July 2018, which left Aslam and Nazir with a serious head. injuries.
The defendants’ address in Elms Avenue, Derby, was subsequently attacked and the windows smashed. To get revenge, they came as part of a plan to kill Mr. Mahumad or to target a member of his family.
Judge Simon Drew KC said it was only by chance that no one was killed in the attack as he jailed Nazir for 32 years and Aslam for 10 years for their part in the “complex, well-planned conspiracy”.
He said he was happy enough that the violent incident in 2018 was the trigger for the revenge attack the following year, which would have been an execution if the gun had not malfunctioned.
Judge Drew said Aslam’s role was mostly to drive his son around because he was disqualified from driving, but said he must have met Betro face-to-face at least once.
There was no reaction from either father or son in the dock at Birmingham Crown Court as they were sentenced, but as they were led down to the cells, Aslam nodded and gave his family a thumbs up in the public gallery.
Both men were convicted in June of conspiracy to murder, and Nazir was also found guilty of possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence, perverting the course of justice and illegally importing firearms as part of a scheme to sell guns bring into the country. and the frame of a former friend with whom he was cheating.
Judge Drew said: “Mr Nazir, you played a leading role. Mr Aslam, your role was not as fundamental to what was going on and I assume your main role was to act as a driver, but also to support your son and you knew what you were supporting.
“This was not a spontaneous reaction to events, but a planned revenge attack on Mr. Mahumad and his family. To take that revenge, you, Mohammed Nazir, recruited Aimee Betro.
“It would be an exaggeration to call the situation a contract killing, but the evidence suggests that Betro was rewarded for taking part in it. There is evidence of a loose relationship between us.
“Both of you (Nazir and Aslam) did everything you could to encourage and enable her to kill Mr Mahumad or one of his family members.”
Nazir and Betro are believed to have been in touch while she was in the UK and Nazir flew out to the US four days after Betro left the UK.
The judge ordered that Nazir be given another sentence – six years for being in possession of a firearm; five years for perverting the course of justice and two years for illegally importing firearms should run – concurrently.
The father and son must serve at least two-thirds of their sentences before they can be released on licence.
Hannah Sidaway from the Crown Prosecution Service said it was a “well-planned and methodical attack” in which Nazir and Aslam tried to cover their tracks by using accomplices.
She said: “In the plan to discharge a loaded firearm, it was clear that they had an intent to kill. This was a complex investigation involving collaboration between West Midlands and Derbyshire Police, the Crown Prosecution Service and US authorities.
“It was to get evidentiary material from the US including forensic samples to link the offenders to evidence from crime scenes.
“These convictions and sentences are a reminder of the consequences of using deadly weapons on our streets. We will continue to work with our criminal justice partners to bring such offenders to justice.”
Additional reporting from PA
