'Escalating feud' led to slaying of Dudley taxi boss shot outside his home

The long-running dispute between two families was so long the cause was unknown, Wolverhampton Crown Court heard.

The jury was told it had escalated from street disorder with knives, to murder and maiming.

The eight men sat in silence in the dock as James Curtis QC, prosecuting for the Crown, read out the “agreed facts” about the killing of Mohammed Haroon Zeb.

He said: “There has been a feud lasting several years, the cause of the feud is unknown.The groups compromise of family members or friends.

“The first eight defendants on the indictment are either family members, friends or associates of the group which lived in the Claughton area of Dudley. The other group was members of the Hussain family, who lived in the Himley Road area.”

Mr Curtis described how shotguns were used to intimidate members of Himley Road gang and described how the so-called “Golden City” murder of Yassir Hussain by Nabeel Choudhary, on December 4, 2018.

He said: “Yassir Hussain was the deceased, Nabeel Choudhary was found guilty. This was called Operation Decibel. Yassir Hussain was found stabbed during an incident of disorder on Central Drive, Dudley.”

Hussain had been brutally stabbed to death after the car he was was rammed, he had been visiting the area from Burnley. After the jury heard the “agreed facts” the multitude of CCTV evidence began as Detective Sergeant Andrew McDonald gave evidence.

He said: “I have spent more than 1,150 hours reviewing and compiling CCTV for this case. I am very experienced at my job. I create a report which gives a timeline to events.”

DS McDonald explained how the police knocked on doors of people within the vicinity of the killing in Queen’s Drive, Dudley, asking if they had camera footage. The police also split the area into zones to ensure all CCTV footage is found from the night of the murder.

The supervisor in the CCTV team within the homicide department painstakingly put together CCTV images and video from various cameras across Birmingham and Dudley. The CCTV evidence will be central to the prosecution case and the jury have already seen the last seconds of the father-of-four’s life as the shooting was caught on camera.

The jury will also be shown DNA evidence taken from vehicles they believe were involved in the killing, and Audi A3 and a Volkswagon Golf. A video of men waving a gun around had also been sent to the victim before his death.

The following eight people have all been charged with conspiracy to murder:

• Hassan Tasleem, 24, of Richmond Road, Dudley

• Arkarsh Tasleem, 26, of Shaw Road, Dudley

• Choudhary Naheim Rashid, 47, of Kingswinford Road, Dudley

• Choudhary Akeel Hussain, 21, of Brook Street, Dudley

• Gurdeep Sandhu, 23, of Blowers Green Road, Dudley

• Mohammed Rafiq, 20, of Gammag Street, Dudley

• Umar Ali, 20, of Blowers Green Road, Dudley

• Shamraz Ali, 20, of Tanfield Road, Dudley

Hassan Tasleem, Choudhary Naheim Rashid, Gurdeep Sandhu, and Umar Ali have also been charged with possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life.

Sanna Iqbal, 27, of Hordern Road, Wolverhampton, has been charged with assisting an offender - her boyfriend Hassan Tasleem. The trial continues.