Swedish hitman guilty of murdering reality TV star's brother in drug gang war

11 February 2022, 17:28 | Updated: 11 February 2022, 18:35

A Swedish hitman has been found guilty of murdering a reality TV star's brother in a drug gang war.

Anis Hemissi, 24, was found guilty of murder and possession of a firearm at Southwark Crown Court on Friday after a two-month trial.

The jury was not told that he had previously been a suspect in the murder of a man shot dead near Hemissi's father's house in Malmo but never charged.

Another Swedish man, Estevan Pino-Munizaga, 35, was acquitted of murder but found guilty of an alternative charge of manslaughter.

It came as Flamur Beqiri - the brother of The Real Housewives Of Cheshire star Misse Beqiri - was shot dead on the doorstep of his £1.7 million home in Battersea while his screaming wife shielded their two-year-old son on Christmas Eve 2019.

Mr Beqiri was targeted as part of a feud with a rival organised crime group headed by Amir Mekky, 24.

The 36-year-old claimed to be in the music business but was a kingpin in an international drugs gang from 2007, led by Daniel Petrovski, 38.

Hitman Hemissi disguised himself in a latex mask and opened fire 10 times with a pistol, hitting Mr Beqiri with eight bullets from behind.

Senior Crown Prosecution Service prosecutor, Louise Attrill, said: "It is an international assassination which required meticulous planning and involved a group of organised criminals recruiting a team to carry out this shocking and brutal murder."

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The court heard three other Swedes also flew to the capital in the weeks and days before the shooting, which was planned for up to six months.

While Pino-Munizaga was acquitted of murder but found guilty of manslaughter, Tobias Andersson, 32, and Bawer Karaer, 23, also from Sweden, were acquitted of both charges.

Karaer's cousin, Ahmet Karaer, who is suspected of helping to finance, plan and organise the murder, is wanted by police, having disappeared after being deported from Egypt where he was arrested for drug smuggling.

Mr Beqiri was a target from the summer of 2019 and, by November, the gang's planning stepped up as Pino-Munizaga travelled to London for around 14 hours.

He rented a flat in Oyster Wharf, visited Mr Beqiri's house nearby and bought a distinctive ladies' bicycle with a basket, while Andersson bought a litter picker on a later trip to the capital.

The bike was used by Hemissi to carry out reconnaissance on three days prior to the murder, once dressed as a street cleaner, wearing a latex mask, sunglasses and high-vis work clothes, while holding the litter picker and black bin bag.

The outfit and bike were abandoned when a local resident - Jeremy Lyons - became suspicious after seeing Hemissi working on both public and private streets, telling the hitman: "Get away from this estate please."

Karaer bought a replacement bike when he came to London, which Hemissi parked on the Thames path and used to make his getaway after the shooting.

Hemissi, who flew into London on December 20, left the country to go to Copenhagen, Denmark, in the early hours of Christmas Day.

He was arrested on his return following a holiday in Thailand and, along with the other three Swedes, was extradited to the UK to stand trial.

Meanwhile, Clifford Rollox, 31, from Islington, and Dutch national, Claude Isaac Castor, 31, from Sint Maarten in the Caribbean, were found guilty of perverting the course of justice after being hired locally to clean up the flat where the killers had stayed.

They were seen removing a large suitcase on Christmas Day, but police were on the scene before they could finish the job and evidence recovered included a ripped up flight ticket stub including Hemissi's name.

Detective Sergeant Brett Skowron said: "This murder was meticulously planned by the suspects and involved a number of different men travelling to the UK in the months leading up to Mr Beqiri being fatally shot."

Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb said she will sentence those found guilty next Friday.