US ‘hitwoman’s DNA found on gun parts sent to UK’

Aimee Betro allegedly tried to shoot Sikander Ali at point blank range outside his home in Birmingham - CHP

The DNA of an American woman alleged to have been involved in a failed assassination attempt was found on gun parts illegally sent to the UK more than a month later, a court has heard.

Aimee Betro, 45, is alleged to have flown from Wisconsin as part of a plot orchestrated by co-conspirators Mohammed Aslam, 56, and Mohammed Nabil Nazir, 31, of Derby, to attack a rival family on Sept 7 2019.

A trial at Birmingham Crown Court heard on Tuesday that Ms Betro had been involved in “yet another” of Mr Nazir’s plots to take revenge on a rival when she was alleged to have sent three parcels full of ammunition and gun parts to the UK on Oct 16 2019.

Tom Walkling KC, prosecuting, said that the parts which were wrapped in foil and paper inside three cardboard boxes, were addressed to a man named Faris Quayum, from Derby, with Mr Nazir tipping off the police with intent to frame him.

While the packages were intercepted and Mr Quayum arrested as part of Mr Nazir’s “devious scheme”, Mr Walkling said his involvement in the plan eventually came to light.

CCTV footage captured a person wearing a niqab attempting to shoot Sikander Ali as he gets out of his car - West Midlands Police/SWNS

Mr Walkling said a woman, who the prosecution say was Ms Betro, was seen at a post office 100 miles away from her home address in the US posting the parcels under a fake name.

He said: “In the case of each of the three packages, Ms Betro’s DNA has been found on the gun parts and ammunition inside them. There is no doubt, we say, that she handled the contents of those boxes.

“She may not have known the full extent of Nazir’s devious scheme, but there is no doubt that when she sent prohibited ammunition into the UK, she broke the law.”

The court heard that during the assassination attempt in September, Ms Betro disguised her appearance with a niqab when she allegedly tried to shoot Sikander Ali at point blank range outside his home in Measham Grove, Birmingham, but the gun jammed, allowing Mr Ali to flee.

She is alleged to have returned to the scene hours later in the early hours of Sept 8 and fired three shots into Mr Ali’s house, which was empty at the time, before leaving the UK and flying back to the US the next day.

Aimee Betro checking into a Birmingham hotel before she is alleged to have attempted an assassination - West Midlands Police

The court heard father and son Aslam and Mr Nazir, who were jailed last year for their part in the bungled assassination plot, were involved in a feud with Mr Ali’s father, Aslat Mahumad.

Mr Nazir and Aslam got injured during disorder at Mr Mahumad’s clothing boutique in Birmingham in July 2018, which led them to conspire to have someone kill him or a member of his family.

Ms Betro was allegedly in Armenia when Mr Nazir was jailed for 32 years and Aslam for 10 years in November, but was returned to the UK in January this year to face her own criminal proceedings.

Mr Walkling said: “The prosecution say that the evidence in this case is compelling and strong.

“Aimee Betro was the would-be assassin on Sept 7 2019.

“She was the shooter on Measham Grove in the early hours of the next day, and she was the person who furthered another of Nazir’s vendettas when she sent ammunition to the UK in October 2019.”

Ms Betro denies conspiracy to murder, possessing a self-loading pistol and a charge of fraudulently evading the prohibition on importing ammunition.

The trial continues.

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