Seven men jailed following murder of man in Ilford.

Seven men have been jailed following the murder of Mohammed Usman Mirza in an apparent revenge attack for the attempted murder of another man two months earlier.

Following a seven-week trial at the Old Bailey, on Thursday, 7 July, Tyler Moore, 21 (20.05.2001) of Lawson Close, Ilford, was convicted of murder. On Monday, 14 November he was sentenced at the same court to life to serve a minimum term of 20 years.

Two other men were found guilty of manslaughter, they have been sentenced as follows:

• Moeez Bangash, 26 (11.06.96) of Gaysham Avenue, Ilford, has been sentence to life in prison to serve a minimum term of 14 years.
• Jonathan Makengo, 25 (23.01.97) of Francis Way, Ilford, has been sentenced to 16 years in prison.

This follows an earlier 10-week trial that concluded in October 2021 and saw three men all convicted of Usman’s murder, they are:

• London Beqa, 20 (20.08.00), of Windsor Road, Ilford, was sentenced to life imprisonment, to serve a minimum of 14 years;
• Shariq Khan, 21 (01.02.99) of Percy Road, Ilford, was sentenced to life imprisonment, to serve a minimum of 25 years;
• Hassan Riaz, 22 (04.09.98), of Hampton Road, Ilford, was sentenced to life imprisonment, to serve a minimum of 24 years;

During the latter trial, restrictions around naming the 18-year-old found guilty of murder during the 2021 trial were lifted. He can now be named as Omari Thompson, (26.06.04) of Northbrook Road, Ilford, who was also sentenced to life imprisonment to serve a minimum 15 years.

Due to Covid restrictions in place at the time, the defendants’ trails were spilt.

The seven defendants will serve a combined total of 128 years in prison before being eligible for parole. 

Detective Chief Inspector Kelly Allen, said: “I would firstly like to pay tribute to Usman’s family who have had to endure two trials to see all of these responsible for his murder brought to justice. I cannot begin to imagine how difficult it has been to go through this process twice and hear these harrowing details repeated a second time. I hope that today’s verdict can begin to offer some comfort that the men who took Usman’s life will rightly pay for their actions.

“While all of these men may have played different roles in what happened to Usman, what was clear to us and the jury was this was a carefully planned attack with Usman as the sole target. Nothing had been left to chance. They were out for revenge for the attack they believed Usman had orchestrated against their friend. In the lead up to the attack Khan and Bangash maintained an air of friendship with Usman, despite the fact that their loyalties had changed.”

Usman’s father, Imran Mirza, said: “We will never get over the murder of our son Usman and we miss him every single day. This has been a very long process with two trials but we are pleased that justice has now been served.”

The jury heard that the attack on Usman was well planned with a series of recces to key locations being carried out in the lead up to the actual ambush. Detectives discovered phone data belonging to Riaz, Khan, Makengo and Moore which implicated each of them in selecting the location of the attack site.

Detectives discovered the defendants had used a number of cars, the majority of which had been stolen in the days prior to the attack and each had a defined purpose. Examination of CCTV footage showed these cars numerous times in the area around where Usman was attacked. Police used CCTV footage, DNA and mobile phone data to link the defendants to the stolen cars and specific key areas prior to Usman’s murder.

On 19 November 2019, the day of the attack, Usman, also known as Speccs to his friends, got into a car with Shariq Khan and was driven to a block of garages in Hurstleigh Gardens in Redbridge – the pre-selected site where the ambush would be carried out. A second vehicle then entered the garages within moments of Usman’s arrival.

Usman was attacked in the alleyway between these garages and Owen Waters House. Usman was able to run from the car but he was chased before collapsing on Fullwell Avenue.

Members of the public called police at approximately 22:20hrs after they saw a group of men fighting. They reported seeing men with knives attacking Usman, who was calling for help. Following the attack, witnesses described how the defendants fled the scene in different directions before police arrived.

Police found Usman unresponsive after sustaining multiple stab injuries. Usman was assisted by members of the public where a witness reported hearing Usman use the nickname of one of the men who attacked him. Officers gave first aid until the paramedics and London’s Air Ambulance arrived on scene. Despite efforts to save his life, Usman was pronounced dead at 22:53hrs at the scene.

Following a post-mortem examination at Walthamstow Mortuary on 21 November 2019, cause of death was established as a stab wound to the neck. Usman had also sustained multiple stab wounds across his body.

DCI Kelly Allen, added: “This was a sophisticated plan that was clearly some days in the making. They ensured that had enough stolen vehicles to help them carry out the attack and then attempt to cover their tracks. We also know that the defendants were in and around the area where Usman was killed hours before they launched their attack. There is no doubt that this was a pre-meditated attack.

“CCTV demonstrated they carried out a number of recces to pinpoint where they would carry out each part of their plan, from the attack itself to burn sites and pick up locations. They then all headed before then heading to Swiss Cottage for what we can assume was a debrief after Usman’s murder. However, thanks to the bravery of witnesses to come forward and report what they saw and heard, detectives were able to track them down and piece together the events surrounding Usman’s death and bring his killers to justice.”

An eighth man was found not guilty during the 2021 trial.