The reason the Hijab hitman tried to shoot the Birmingham man was aired during the trial

The possible reason why a Birmingham man was targeted by a female killer wearing a hijab has been aired during a trial. A jury was told US national Aimee Betro pointed a gun at Sikander Ali outside her home in Measham Grove, Acocks Green, on September 7, 2019, but the gun jammed when she pulled the trigger, allowing him to escape.

It is alleged that Betro, along with father and son Mohammed Aslam and Mohammed Nazir, from Derby, actually plotted to kill Mr Ali’s father, Aslat Mahumad, following an incident between the two families in a jewelery shop with a year earlier.

Birmingham Crown Court was told today, Wednesday May 15, that the botched job was “drug-related” and the Measham Grove address was used to grow cannabis. A statement from Mr Ali, which he did not sign, was read to the jury.

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He said on the day in question he was robbed at Crystal Plaza in Sparkbrook before leaving at 8pm and returning home to Measham Grove in an Audi Q5. Mr Ali said: “When I pulled up I noticed there was a Mercedes parked in the middle of the road.

“It seemed like a silly place to park and I noticed it was an older model, a large vehicle. I saw that there was only one person in the car, who was the driver. I thought the driver appeared to be a woman and was wearing a hijab, including a face covering.”

He continued: “I got out the driver’s door and was heading home. I looked back at the Mercedes, not knowing why it was parked on the road.

“As I turned around and looked, I saw that the driver’s door was already open and the person – I couldn’t tell if it was a man or a woman, they were still wearing hijab – was walking towards me. I saw that this person had a pistol in his hand – I do not remember which hand held the pistol.

“I immediately felt scared. I didn’t really understand what was happening. I had questions running through my mind; what happens? Why is this happening? The person moved his arm towards me and pointed directly at me. I panicked. at this point i immediately got back in the car and closed the door.

“I threw the vehicle into reverse. I was determined to get away, I didn’t want to get shot.”

Mr Ali described hitting the door of the Mercedes with his car as he drove away from the area. He said he returned home to Measham Grove a short time later and told his family what had happened, before he and relatives found the damaged Mercedes abandoned in nearby Bosworth Grove.

Mr Ali said he understood the men from Derby had been arrested in connection with the incident, who were “the same people my family had a dispute with a year and a half ago”, adding that it was a “battle where the criminals crumbled. my family’s shop’.

He continued: “Since this incident I have had nothing to do with these people. I don’t know them and have no reason to have anything to do with them. There is no clear reason to target me or on my family”.

His father, Mr Mahumad, said in a statement that a woman with an American accent called him to inquire about seeing and buying a Volkswagen Golf from him before the shooting attempt. He told police he received a text from the same number after the incident saying “where are you hiding? ” and “stop playing hide and seek, you’re lucky it’s stuck”.

Mr Mahumad said the same person asked to meet her before texting “who is your family or you, pick one”. The court previously heard shots were fired at the Measham Grove address hours later, but it was empty at the time.

Mr Mahumad said he received a message from the same number as before, saying: “You want to deceive me, you want to be a drug lord, go and look at your house and I will show you the way, watch your back, I’ll be bleeding soon.”

The jury was not told why Mr Mahumad or Mr Ali were not called to give live evidence. But KC Andrew Selby, defending, told the court that if Mr Ali had gone to the witness box he would have been asked a series of questions, including whether he owed anyone money and “why he didn’t want to engage with the police “. The barrister said Mr Ali would have been further questioned about “the fact that he knew this was all drug-related and unrelated to an incident a year and a half ago as he described it”.

Mr Selby told the jury Mr Mahumad was allegedly asked “if he knew the messages sent to him were intended for his son?”. He continued: “If he knew his son was involved in drugs? If he knew his son was using his Measham Grove home address to grow cannabis.’

Aslam, 56, and Nazir, 30, both of Elms Avenue, Derby, deny conspiracy to murder and possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence. Nazir is also alleged to have set up a friend with whom he argued with excessive cultivation of cannabis. He pleaded not guilty to perverting the course of justice and fraudulently evading an arms and ammunition smuggling ban.

Betro, 44, of Chicago, Illinois, remains at large, the court was told, having flown back to America two days after the assassination attempt.

The process continues.