US woman is jailed for her role in a failed murder plot in Birmingham

Aimee Betro, aged 45,  flew to the UK before she tried to shoot Sikander Ali at point-blank range outside his home in Measham Grove, Yardley, shortly after 8pm on September 7 2019. She was sentenced for her part in the plot at Birmingham Crown Court on Thursday(21).

CCTV footage showed how the victim had just returned home and was getting out of his car, but sped away as she approached him with the gun, smashing the open door from Betro’s car. 

But a few hours later, she returned and fired three bullets through bedroom windows of the family home.

Two men, Derbyshire father and son Mohammed Aslam and Mohammed Nazir, were jailed for their role in the murder plot last year.

They had been involved in a feud with the father of the man who Betro tried to shoot, who also lived at the house which she shot at.

He was owner of a clothes shop in Birmingham where, in 2018, a disorder resulted in damage to the premises, and injuries to himself, Aslam and Nazir.

Betro fled the country the day after she’d fired the shots at the house, and a major operation with international law enforcement agencies to track her down began.

Meanwhile, detectives built up a picture of her time in the UK, and how she had flown into Manchester Airport on 22 August, 2019, just over two weeks before the shooting. 

A major CCTV trawl and analysis of mobile phone data showed Betro’s movements in the build-up and aftermath of the attempted shooting late on 7 September and the subsequent shooting in the early hours of 8 September.

She met up with Nazir, who she had met online some time earlier and who at some point had recruited her to carry out the attack.

We found a video on his phone of a gun, believed to be the one used in the shooting, being test fired in Derby, days before the shooting. Betro had travelled to Derby on the same day the footage was filmed.

CCTV revealed how Betro had bought cheap ‘burner’ phones in Birmingham which she used to plot her attack.

She had even sent a text message to the father of the man she had tried to shoot, saying: “Stop playing hide n seek. You’re lucky it jammed. Who is it? Your family or you? Pick one.”

She flew back to the US on 9 September 2019, sparking an international hunt by a number of law enforcement agencies.

She was finally tracked down to Armenia, more than 2,000 miles away from Birmingham, last summer.

In January, she was returned to the UK by specialist National Extradition Unit officers from the National Crime Agency’s (NCA) Joint International Crime Centre.

After a trial lasting two weeks, Betro, aged 45, was found guilty of conspiracy to murder, possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence, and an offence relating to the importation of ammunition into the UK.

That was another foiled plot that Betro played a key role in – she had sent the illegal goods from the US to a man in Derbyshire, another rival of Nazir’s, so that he would be arrested.

Det Ch Insp, Alastair Orencas of our Major Crime Unit, said: “This is a unique case which has involved a huge amount of work tracing the movements of Betro from her arrival into the UK, her subsequent failed attempt to shoot a man dead, and her departure from the UK.

“It’s by luck that her attempt to kill her target failed, thanks to the jamming of her gun.

“An incredible amount of work went into building up a really detailed picture of her activities while in the UK. While she was passing herself off as a tourist, posting pictures and video of landmarks such as the London Eye while she was here, her real purpose was to commit murder.

“We worked really closely with partners such as the Armenian Government, (NCA), FBI, Crown Prosecution Service and Derbyshire Constabulary to bring Betro back to the UK to face justice. I’d like to thank all of them for helping to achieve justice.”

Specialist Prosecutor Hannah Sidaway OBE, from the Crown Prosecution Service in the West Midlands, said: “This prosecution is a culmination of years of hard work doggedly pursuing Aimee Betro across countries and borders while she remained relentless in her bid to escape justice.

“Betro tried to kill a man in a Birmingham street at point-blank range. It is sheer luck that he managed to get away unscathed.

“The prosecution case included incriminating CCTV footage from the scene of the crime, digital forensics, mobile phone data and evidence collated from cooperation and collaboration across multiple countries and criminal justice agencies – from West Midlands Police, Derbyshire Constabulary to the Federal Bureau of Investigation – all of which pointed to one culprit.

“Only Betro knows what truly motivated her or what she sought to gain from becoming embroiled in a crime that meant she travelled hundreds of miles from Wisconsin to Birmingham to execute an attack on a man she did not know. The jury clearly agreed this was a planned hit which failed.

“Dangerous firearms have no place in our communities, and the use of them has all too often led to devastating consequences. Aimee Betro will now have to face the consequences of her actions.”

Derbyshire Constabulary added: “This case highlights the extraordinary lengths some individuals will go to in order to carry out violent acts, even recruiting a foreign national to execute a targeted shooting on British soil.

“The fact that Aimee Betro’s weapon jammed is the only reason we are not dealing with a murder.

“Her actions were calculated, cold, and posed a grave threat to public safety.

“Not only did she attempt to kill, but she also played a key role in smuggling ammunition into the UK in a separate plot to frame another individual, further demonstrating the dangerous reach of this conspiracy.

“Thanks to the tireless efforts of officers and international partners, she has now been brought to justice. This conviction sends a clear message: no matter how far you run, we will find you, and you will be held accountable.”