Father and son jailed after hiring 'hitwoman in a hijab' for botched revenge killing in Birmingham
7 November 2024, 19:45
A father and son who hired a female assassin wearing a hijab to shoot a man in a revenge killing plot have been jailed for over 40 years between them.
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Mohammed Nazir, 30, and his father Mohammed Aslam, 56, hired Chicago hitwoman Aimee Betro, 44, for a shooting in Birmingham.
It followed a dispute at a Birmingham clothing store in 2018 in which they were both injured
But the assassination attempt failed as Betro's gun jammed as when tried to kill victim Sikander Ali outside a house in Acock's Green on September 7, 2019. A second shooting the next day also failed.
Betro fled, sparking an international manhunt, and was arrested in Armenia.
Aslam has now been sent to prison for 32 years, while Nazir has been given a ten-year sentence.
Betro, who was wearing a traditional Muslim female head covering, was parked outside the house in a Mercedes when Mr Ali pulled up.
"As he did, the would-be assassin came from the driver’s side of the Mercedes," prosecution lawyer Kevin Hegarty said during the trial.
"As she left the Mercedes she left the driver’s door open. She walked quite calmly towards Sikander Ali and was pointing a gun at him at head height.
"As she got closer to Sikander Ali he saw her and he saw the gun and she pulled the trigger to fire the gun at him. Mercifully and luckily for him the gun jammed."
Mr Ali drove away to escape, as did Betro. She later abandoned her car and it was discovered by police.
Betro returned to the house the next day and took three shots at it, before leaving in a taxi. No one was hurt in the second shooting.
She also sent messages to Mr Ali's father Aslat Mahamud, asking: "Where are you hiding?" and telling him: "Stop playing hide and seek."
Derby men Nazir and Aslam held a judge against Mr Ali's family because of a row at a clothes shop in 2018 that left the father and son injured.
They were convicted of conspiracy to murder. Nazir was also found guilty of of possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence, illegally importing firearms and perverting the course of justice. Aslam was cleared of a firearms offence.
A West Midlands Police spokesman said: “Aslam and Nazir were determined to take revenge following a fall out where they were injured.
“The lengths they went to in trying to make sure they weren’t implicated in pulling the trigger are immense.
“However, thanks to some great police work and support from our Derbyshire colleagues, we were able to place them firmly in the middle of the attempted murder plot.
“We hope that today, after a number of years unravelling this investigation, justice has been served.
“That nobody died as a result of Aslam and Nazir’s actions is through nothing other than sheer good fortune.
“Their plan was to kill and had it not been for the gun jamming, then there is a good chance this would have been a murder investigation."
