Father and son are jailed for botched murder bid with female assassin

A father and son who were alleged to have hired a female American assassin for a botched hit were jailed this afternoon for a total of 42 years after being convicted of conspiracy to murder.

Mohammed Nazir, 30, and Mohammed Aslam, 56 were said to have recruited Aimee Betro, 44, who it is alleged flew in from Chicago before an attempt was made on the life of shop owner Sikander Ali at his family home in a Birmingham suburb in September 2019.

Betro was tracked down to Armenia by MailOnline following the father-and-son's convictions in June.

The Mail had pinpointed the exact location of her home by analysing buildings and features in pictures she posted on Instagram after allegedly being on the run from British police for nearly five years.

The Mail informed West Midlands Police of her whereabouts on the outskirts of Armenia's capital Yerevan and agreed to a news blackout by not publicising her address before her arrest. The extradition process is now underway.

During the trial, Birmingham crown court was told that she had arranged to meet shopkeeper Sikander Ali - who was the son of Aslat Mahamud, a man Nazir and Aslam had had been in a dispute with – after reportedly feigning interest in a car the family were selling.

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Nazir and Aslam had developed a grudge against Mr Mahamud after the trio and their families were involved in disorder at a boutique owned by Mr Mahamud in July 2018. All three suffered significant injuries as a result of the violence, the court heard, with Aslam suffering an enduring frontal lobe injury to his brain. Later that evening, windows were smashed at the defendants' family home in Derby.

Judge Simon Drew KC said he was 'quite satisfied that that series of incidents' in July 2018 was the motivation for what he described as the 'revenge attack' that took place in September 2019.

The judge said Nazir had recruited Betro, who he had 'befriended' at some point previously, to perform what he described would have been an 'execution', had it been successful.

He told Nazir: 'It may be overstating it to describe this as a contract killing but the evidence suggests she was rewarded for taking part in it, certainly that seems the most likely explanation for how she became involved.'

The judge sentenced Nazir to 32 years in prison, while Aslam was sentenced to ten years. The defendants did not react as they were sentenced.

The jury was told that Betro had returned to the US, but today the judge was told that extradition proceedings were now active.

Nazir flew to America a few days after Betro, naming her as his point of contact on travel documentation.

He returned to the UK in October 2019 and was arrested at the airport, Birmingham Crown Court heard today, while Aslam was picked up at home. The latter was found guilty of conspiracy to murder but cleared of a firearms offence.

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Father and son's botched murder plot involving female American assassin

Nazir was found guilty of conspiracy to murder and possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence, perverting the course of justice, and illegally importing firearms over a plot to bring guns into Britain and then blame it on another person to frame them. Detectives pieced together their involvement through their phones, CCTV and financial investigations.

Nazir was discovered to have spent two hours in a Birmingham aparthotel allegedly with Betro – who it is claimed had travelled to the UK more than a fortnight earlier and had visited locations including including Brighton, Manchester and the defendants’ home city of Derby - the night before it is alleged she pointed a gun at Mr Ali.

Enquiries by MailOnline revealed the electronic music fan was born in Wisconsin and spent a year studying graphic design before training in childcare. She then spent five years selling tickets for the Milwaukee Brewers baseball team.

Betro is believed to have arrived in Armenia at least three years ago, having told friends and family she was travelling to the former Soviet republic to work as a DJ.

She initially lived in a flat in southern Yerevan and attended so-called Africa nights at local nightclubs, according to sources, but rarely left the $600-a-month flat in a gated community that she moved to early last year.

Her landlord, who asked not to be identified, confirmed that she spent most of her time indoors, often with curtains closed. He told MailOnline this summer: 'Sometimes she yells at her cat very loudly and you can hear it through the walls.

'She told me she works online at home. I don't know what sort of job. I see her when I get my rent and I see here when she goes out very rarely.

'She is a good tenant and pays on time. She mostly only goes out for shopping.'

Today the court heard Nazir had another conviction for sexual assault, in 2020, when he received a community penalty.

Aslam was convicted of fraud in 2019, the court heard, which was quashed after appeal.

Andrew Selby KC for Nazir, described him as a ‘family man’.

Ben Nolan KC, for Aslam, said he acted as a driver for his son ‘at a time when Nazir was disqualified (from driving)’. He added: ‘It was a limited role, a supportive role and very much a secondary role.’