Two brothers jailed after 'cavalier attitude to safe working' led to man's death at Birmingham industrial site

Two brothers were sentenced after a 'cavalier attitude to safe working' led to a man death after industrial accident at a Birmingham building site last year, a court heard.

Ako Azizpou, 27, tragically died in 2024, having been working at at UK Superior Glass on Tyburn Road in the Erdington area of Birmingham.

In court, Nashwan Amin, the person registered as having significant control of UK Superior Glass, was found guilty of gross negligence manslaughter and jailed for 11 years, while his brother Razwan Amin was sentenced to 32 weeks in prison.

Emergency services rushed to UK Superior Glass on February 8 2024 after an industrial accident.

Mr Azizpour was attempting to unload crates of glass from a container when he became trapped, work was done to try and free him but he was soon pronounced dead at the scene.

West Midlands Police launched an investigation alongside the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) into his death and weren’t able to find documents relating to employees or health and safety, and little evidence of training.

The crates of glass that Mr Azizpour attempted to unload weighed more than 24,000 kilograms, and was shipped in 11 separate crates, each weighing over 2 tonnes.

They should have been unloaded by a crane or specialised forklift that were not available at the site.

Nashwan Amin, the person registered as having significant control of UK Superior Glass, was arrested the following week, having previously provided a statement in relation to the incident which was found to be wholly inaccurate.

Police said that Amin knew a crane or forklift would be required to lift the glass but had made no arrangements for either.

A further report from HSE stated that specialised equipment would have been needed to unload it, and the risk of death within the danger zone around the crates was highly foreseeable.

Detectives also found evidence that Nashwan Amin had been targeting people locally who were seeking asylum, and recruited them to work for him as a cheap form of labour.

Nashwan Amin, aged 29, of Garrard Gardens, was found guilty of gross negligence manslaughter at an earlier hearing, having previously admitted to perverting the course of justice.

His brother Razwan Amin, aged 27, of Wildmoor Close, previously admitted to perverting the course of justice.

In sentencing Nashwan Amin at Birmingham Crown Court on Tuesday (November 3).

His Honour Judge Smith KC said he showed a 'cavalier attitude to safe working', that led to the death of Mr Azizpour.

Nashwan Amin jailed for a total of 11 years and disqualified from acting as a company director for ten years, while his brother Rizwan Amin was sentenced to 32 weeks in prison.

Det Chief Inspector Dan Jarratt, who led the investigation, said: “This was a complex investigation throughout which our thoughts remained with Mr Azizpour’s family.

“We worked closely with the Health and Safety Executive, and we were able to find out what happened that day – and demonstrate that ultimately Mr Azizpour’s death could have been prevented.

“We were committed to bringing the pair to justice, and employers must be reminded to uphold their duty of care, especially where lives are lost due to preventable negligence.”