SEVENTEEN men have been convicted for their parts in a string of burglaries which culminated with the murder of two men who were shot with a crossbow in Brierley Hill in February 2020.
Three men were jailed for life in February 2021 after killing 19-year-old Khuzaimiah Douglas and 36-year-old Waseem Ramzan while trying to protect their cannabis grow in Pensnett Road.
Waseem Ramzan was the brother of Saghawat Ramzan who was jailed alongside his son Omar Ramzan and Mohammed Sageer.
Khuzaimiah Douglas was one of the group attempting to raid the property.
Prior to the killings, an investigation was underway after a series of burglaries and attempted burglaries that happened across Birmingham and the Black Country in the early hours of December 17, 2019.
The organised crime group committing the offences were targeting cannabis factories, often following possible cannabis farmers from hydroponic retailers back to where there was a likely grow, West Midlands Police said.
One of the raids saw offenders try to gain access to a house in Dog Kennel Lane, Oldbury, where an innocent occupant was hit on his head with a wooden mallet.
After a final attempted break-in at around 3am in Sparkhill police located a rental VW Golf crashed into a wall nearby which had been used in the raid and inside found a mobile phone for one of the offenders. Analysis linked him to other suspects and the person who hired the car.
Just days later, on February 20, the group’s activities ended in tragedy.
At 3.30am a cannabis grow in Pensnett Road, Brierley Hill, was attacked, but Khuzaimiah Douglas was fatally shot as the homeowners fought back with weapons.
Police later found three mobile phones in a car that had crashed and was left behind – enabling officers to start linking members of the group and their movements.
DNA from items discovered also added to the evidence.
Detective Superintendent Jim Munro said: “The activities of this group were already on our radar when sadly the raid in Pensnett Road ended in bloodshed.
“Although the murder investigation concluded with three men jailed, we have continued our enquiries into those linked in some way to the activities of the group.
“Our officers studied hours of CCTV and linked hundreds of phone records to place the defendants at the scene of the crimes.”
Dudley man Troy Parkins, aged 28, from Claughton Road, was among eight men who admitted conspiracy to commit burglary and aggravated burglary.
The others were: Godfree Mbugoniwia, aged 25, from Brunswick Road, Birmingham; Omari Beckford, aged 28, from Northumberland Way, Walsall; Jason Kavanagh, aged 24, of no fixed address; Bradley Knight, aged 26, from Tugford Road, Bournville; Dante Morgan, aged 23, of no fixed address; William Thompson, aged 30, from Sedgehill Avenue, Birmingham; and Karam Sanghera, aged 25, from Manningford Road, Birmingham.
Lewis Graver, aged 25, from Primrose Lane, Hall Green; Lewis Azzopardi, aged 28, from Eureka Gardens, Wolverhampton; and Reed Smith, aged 27, from Brunswick Road, Balsall Heath, admitted some offences and were found guilty after a trial, ending on October 4, regarding other offences of conspiracy to commit aggravated burglary.
Shamas Riasat, aged 31, from Boldmere Road, Sutton Coldfield, admitted perverting the course of justice in relation to the hired VW Golf.
Dudley man Billal Akram, aged 28, from Buffery Road, was among five men who admitted some offences but were found guilty of other offences of conspiracy to commit burglary after a trial at Wolverhampton Crown Court which concluded today (Friday December 8).
The other offenders were: Hisham Lewis, aged 24, from Grove Avenue, Selly Oak; Said Ammaid, aged 27, from Edward Road, Birmingham; Micah Evans, aged 23, from Foster Avenue, Bilston; and Amir Nasiri, aged 25, from Swinford Road, Birmingham.
All will be sentenced between February 29 and March 1, 2024.
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