Moment US ‘hitwoman wearing burka disguise tries to shoot dead Birmingham shop owner in botched assassination plot'

The Irish Sun

5 days ago

SHOCKING footage shows the moment a US "hitwoman" is accused of trying to kill a shop owner while wearing a "burka disguise".
Aimee Betro, 45, was allegedly involved in a plot that saw Aslat Mahumad threatened with a firearm that jammed in South Yardley, Birmingham, a court heard.
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CCTV footage shown to the jury captures a person brandishing a pistol, attempting to shoot Sikander Ali
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Birmingham Crown Court captures the individual firing three shots into the property
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CCTV footage allegedly captures Aimee Betro with her head covered
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The American denies conspiracy to murder, the possession of a firearm with intent and the illegal importation of ammunition, Birmingham Crown Court was told.
Betro allegedly flew in from Wisconsin in the United States as part of the plot, the court heard.
She is accused of conspiring with Mohammed Nazir, 31, and his father Mohammed Aslam, 56, to murder Aslat and members of his family between August 21 and September 10 2019.
Tom Walkling KC, for the prosecution, said the botched assassination attempt was the culmination of a long-running 'vendetta' involving the family of Aslat.
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The prosecution claimed that Betro, having bought a Mercedes earlier that day, lay in wait in the vehicle outside Aslat's family home in Measham Grove, Birmingham.
Birmingham Crown Court was shown CCTV footage of an incident in South Yardley in September 2019.
Sikander Ali, Aslat's son, was caught on camera arriving home in his black SUV.
The video then shows a person wearing a face covering, who the prosecution said was Betro, pulling out a firearm and approaching Ali before the gun jammed at point-blank range.
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Ali then quickly reversed his SUV off the road, clipping the door of the Mercedes and damaging it so it would not close.
After the botched assassination attempt, Betro allegedly returned to the property in a taxi and fired three times at the house, smashing several windows.
Mr Walkling added: "On the seventh of September 2019 in a suburban cul de sac in South Yardley a would-be assassin tried to shoot a man called Sikander Ali at close range outside his house.
"The assassin was a woman who tried to disguise her appearance by wearing a niqab - a face covering - and what looked like a burka."
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Betro is standing trial but denies all charges
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Video allegedly capturing Aimee Betro with luggage
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Three shots were fired into the two upstairs bedrooms of a property in Birmingham
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CCTV footage allegedly captures Aimee Betro purchasing a mobile phone prior to the shootings
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The firearms offence is alleged to have been committed on September 8 2019, while the ammunition smuggling charge relates to a period between September 12 and October 23, 2019.
She later dumped the Mercedes and police found a black glove with Betro's DNA inside, the court heard.
"Further proof if any was needed ... that she was the gunwoman in the burka," Mr Walkling claimed.
Six minutes later she was again caught on CCTV shown to the jury from close to where the car was dumped wearing a summer dress, hoodie and flip flops and carrying two bags.
Mr Walkling added that 'revenge was the motive' after Nazir and Aslam were injured during a disorder at Aslat's clothing boutique in Birmingham in July 2018, which led them to conspire to have someone kill him or a member of his family.
Betro was extradited from Armenia and arrested at Gatwick Airport earlier this year by National
Crime
Agency officers
, the jury was told.
Betro's two co-conspirators, Mohammed Nazir and his father, Mohammed Aslam both from Derby, were convicted and jailed last year.
Both were convicted of conspiracy to murder while Nazir was also convicted of possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence.
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Betro, appeared in the dock on Monday wearing black glasses, a maroon top and a colourful beach shirt with bright pink Converse trainers.
The American, whose hair was styled in two "pace buns" on top of her head, denies all charges against her.
Betro is also accused of sending a text to Ali's father which said: 'Where are you hiding? … Stop playing hide and seek' and 'Come and meet me, I'm at Asda,' the court was told.
Mr Walkling said: 'This case is about three incidents. An attempted shooting of a man outside his home, the shooting of bullets through the windows of that home, and the posting of illegal bullets from the USA to the UK."
Mr Walkling said Betro was in contact with Nazir before she flew to Manchester Airport in August 2019.
He said Betro had two phones - a normal "day to day" phone which she used regularly - and a "dirty phone" - bought before the shooting.
Jurors were told that on August Betro also went to Birmingham and hired a Mercedes C Class car from Enterprise at Birmingham Airport.
The car was later involved in a three car collision in Derby with Mohammed Nazir and another woman.
Both later received insurance payouts, the court heard.
She then stayed at a hotel in Derby for two nights before travelling to London and Brighton before returning to Birmingham and then back to Derby.
The court was played a video clip - from Nazir's phone - showing a gun being fired into the ground three days before the attempted shooting in Birmingham which prosecutors said was a bid to "test" the weapon.
The trial is expected to last four weeks.
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CCTV footage allegedly captures Aimee Betro with luggage
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Betro is now on trial
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Mohammed Nazir was found guilty of conspiracy to murder last year
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His father Mohammed Aslam was also found guilty of conspiracy to murder
Credit: SWNS