Father and son sentenced for plotting hitwoman murder

A father and son who "recruited" a woman from the US in a plot to kill a Birmingham shopkeeper have been jailed.

Mohammed Nazir, 30, was sentenced to 32 years for conspiracy to murder while Mohammed Aslam, 56, was told he would serve 10 years.

Aslam and Nazir wanted to kill the owner of a clothing shop after a dispute in 2018 which left the pair injured.

A suspected hitwoman, named as US citizen Aimee Betro, is currently in prison in Armenia and subject to an extradition request. 

Ms Betro allegedly attempted to shoot the shopkeeper’s son during the attack, at a home in South Yardley on 7 September 2019, but the gun jammed.

The father and son, from Elms Avenue in Derby, were convicted following a trial at Birmingham Crown Court in the summer.

Nazir was found guilty of conspiracy to murder and possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence. He was also convicted of perverting the course of justice and illegally importing firearms.

Aslam was cleared of a firearms offence, but was found guilty of conspiracy to murder.

The court heard the father and son, who smiled at members of their family when they appeared in the dock, had been involved in a “serious disorder” in Alum Rock in July 2018, where they both sustained serious wounds.

In the case of Aslam, he suffered injuries to his brain - something which continues to affect his cognitive function.

The 2018 incident involved shopkeeper Mahumad Aslat and members of his family and led to the windows of the defendant’s family home in Derby being smashed later that day, the court heard.

Judge Simon Drew said it remained unclear why the families had fallen out but it had formed the motivation for the 2019 conspiracy.

The judge explained Nazir had recruited Ms Betro to carry out a “deliberate and planned” revenge attack on Mr Aslat and his family that would have "amounted to an execution".

"I think that it would be overstating the case to call what took place a contract killing, however the evidence suggests Aimee Betro was rewarded for taking part," the judge said.

"That seems to be the most likely explanation for why she became involved." 

Ms Betro flew to the UK from her home near Chicago in late August 2019. She was said to have stayed in the Rotunda in Birmingham after a brief tour of England, which was partly funded by Nazir.

On 7 September, she is alleged to have drove to Measham Grove in South Yardley, followed by Nazir and Aslam in a separate car.

The court heard Ms Betro waited there a “considerable” amount of time after the father and son had left.

The judge explained it was not clear if she knew what her intended target looked like but CCTV later showed her attempting to fire at Mr Aslat’s son Sikander Ali, who was able to get into a car and escape.

The house was later shot at three times, the court heard.

“The two of you had done everything you could to encourage and enable Aimee Betro to kill a member of Mr Aslat’s family, whether that was Mr Aslat himself or one of his close relations.

“It was only a matter of chance Sikander Ali was not killed. He was shot at close range, almost point blank.”

The court heard Nazir later spent a month with Betro in the US before he returned and was arrested at a UK airport on 13 October. 

Andrew Selby KC, for Nazir, said he was a man who had strong family and community ties, with his crimes “wholly out of character”.

Benjamin Nolan KC, for Aslam, said his client played "very much a secondary role in the conspiracy.”

But speaking after the sentence was delivered, Hannah Sidaway of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) described what happened as "a methodical and well planned attack against the victim’s family."

She added: "The offenders tried to cover their tracks by using a third party and burner devices to avoid detection.

“In the plan to discharge a loaded firearm, their intention to kill was clear."

The CPS confirmed that it was continuing to work with the Armenian authorities in order to progress the request to extradite Ms Betro through their court system.