"stop playing hide and seek you are lucky it jammed".
A father and son were convicted of being involved in a botched murder plot after a female assassin from America tried to shoot a man in the street in Birmingham.
Mohammed Aslam and his son Mohammed Nazir planned to kill their target following a dispute at a Birmingham clothing store in 2018 which left them both injured.
Nazir had been in regular contact with hired hitwoman Aimee Betro who wore a Hijab as she confronted Sikander Ali in Acocks Green, only for her gun to jam.
Birmingham Crown Court heard she may have actually intended to kill the man’s father Aslat Mahumad.
Betro flew to the UK on August 21, 2019, and arrived in Manchester the following day.
She travelled around the UK using fake names and stayed in hotels in Derby, London, Brighton and Birmingham.
Betro was in contact with Nazir who met her at the Rotunda hotel on September 6.
That day, she called Mr Mahumad and claimed to be interested in buying a Volkswagen Golf.
Around 7:30 pm on September 7, she drove into Measham Grove in a Mercedes.
As she waited there, CCTV captured Nazir and Aslam travelling up and down nearby Gilberstone Avenue in a Volvo.
Mr Ali arrived at his father’s home. He recalled noticing the Mercedes because it was parked in a “stupid” place and described a woman in a Hijab getting out and aiming a gun at him.
The gun jammed, allowing Mr Ali to get back into his car and drive off, ramming the Mercedes.
Betro got back in her car and fled the scene but had to abandon it due to the damage caused by the collision.
The assassin then texted Mr Mahumad, saying “where are you hiding?” and “stop playing hide and seek you are lucky it jammed”.
Betro told him to choose between himself and a family member before requesting they meet in an Asda car park, which never materialised.
She also accused Mr Mahumad of being a “drugs kingpin” as she warned she would be “shedding blood soon”.
He replied that he was a “family man” who had never been involved in drugs in his life.
In the early hours of the following morning, the assassin returned to the address, which was vacant, and shot three bullets.
Betro then fled to Manchester and flew out of the UK on September 9.
The court heard there was “history” between the defendants and Mr Mahumad’s families.
The defence claimed that the botched hitjob was drugs-related and the address in Measham Grove had been used to grow cannabis.
Separately, Nazir tried to “set up” a friend he had once cultivated the class B drug with before they fell out.
In June 2019, the police were called to a report of shots being fired at the friend’s address, only for them to discover cannabis at the property when they attended.
In October of that year, the authorities received a tipoff about three parcels of gun components due to arrive in the UK, which were addressed to the same person. Betro was also involved.
Nazir was found guilty of conspiracy to murder, possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence, perverting the course of justice and fraudulent evasion of a prohibition.
Aslam was found guilty by majority of the murder conspiracy but cleared of the firearm offence.
Betro was not put on trial having fled the country two days after the shooting.
The father and son will be sentenced on August 9, 2024.
Detective Inspector Matt Marston, of West Midlands Police, said:
“This was a complex and protracted investigation. Aslam and Nazir were determined to take revenge following a fallout 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.”
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