A man has been convicted of killing a new dad in a Birmingham street more than four years ago – after police tracked the killer down to a flat in Norway.
Abdulahi Shire attacked Zakir Nawaz in Highfield Road, Washwood Heath, on 10 September 2016 in a fight sparked by a minor road collision.
Shire fled along with fellow attacker Warsame Mohamed – jailed last July having admitted manslaughter – and managed to sneak out of the country.
They left 21-year-old Mr Nawaz – who became a dad for the second time just 10 days before the attack – to die in the street. He suffered a fatal stab wound to his chest.
A European Arrest Warrant was issued for Shire – who is originally from Holland – shortly after the killing and our detectives worked with Europol in a bid to plot the 24-year-old’s movements on the continent.
Crucially police received intelligence last July suggesting he was lying low at an apartment block in Oslo.
He was detained by the Norwegian authorities and handed over to our murder detectives on 28 July after they flew to the Norwegian capital to arrest him.
Shire went on to admit involvement in the disorder but denied being the knifeman.
CCTV footage of the disorder couldn’t conclusively prove Shire inflicted the fatal blow when Mr Nawaz – known as Rex – fell to the ground.
However, he went on to admit manslaughter and today (2 Feb) was jailed for six years and 10 months.
Detective Sergeant Neil Aston from our Homicide Unit thanked Mr Nawaz’s family for their patience and understanding during the investigation.
He said: “It’s been four-and-a-half years since Mr Nawaz’s life was tragically cut short. It’s been a long road to justice but I hope his family can now take some comfort from the fact the man we suspect played the lead role in the attack has been convicted.
“My team worked really hard to secure this conviction plus those of two other men involved in the disorder.
We scrutinised lots of CCTV to piece together a picture of what happened and called upon forensic and facial mapping experts to link the offenders to the attack.
“I’d like to thank our counterparts in Europol and the Norwegian Police for their support, plus to thank Mr Nawaz’s family for their patience through what was a prolonged enquiry.”
Warsame Mohamed was initially jailed for four-and-a-half years in July 2019 after admitting manslaughter − but we appealed his sentence as being unduly lenient and the Court of Appeal later increased it to seven years.
A 29-year-old man was jailed in March 2017 for two years having admitting a charge of violent disorder.