Dealer jailed for 30 years over Saltley drive-by shooting with Skorpion machine gun

Usman Khan, aged 22, was found guilty of attempted murder while Amaan Ajaz, 20, was convicted of assisting an offender

A man who was involved in a drive-by shooting and then fled to Pakistan has been jailed for 30 years. Usman Khan drove a stolen Toyota into position for an accomplice to blast the driver of a Volkswagen Golf with a Skorpion sub-machine gun in Saltley in April last year.

The pair fled the scene on Shaw Hill Road and met another man to dispose of the firearm. They then met Amaan Ajaz who picked them up in his SEAT and drove them around helping them dispose of further evidence.

Following a trial Khan, aged 22 of Sladefield Road, Saltley, was found guilty of attempted murder while he had also pleaded guilty to counts of being concerned in the supply of class A drugs. At Birmingham Crown Court today he was sentenced to 30 years, of which he will have to serve two-thirds in custody before being eligible for release.

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Ajaz, aged 20, of Mead Crescent, Little Bromwich, was found guilty of assisting an offender and sentenced to four years, six months of which he will have to serve half behind bars before release. The man identified as being the shooter also fled to Pakistan with Khan but has yet to be detained.

The shooting took place on the evening of Sunday, April 30 last year. The Volkswagen Golf targeted had been fitted with an illicit tracker.

It is not known whether the victim of the shooting, who was behind the wheel, was in fact the intended target or what the motive for the attack was. Khan and his accomplice wore masks as they pulled up alongside in a Toyota C-HR which had been stolen from an address in Wolverhampton earlier that month by unknown thieves. It had also been fitted with false plates.

The shooter fired nine bullets from the Skorpion, two of which hit the victim in the leg and abdomen. One of them remains in his body, near his ribs, as it has been deemed too risky to remove.

The victim managed to drive himself to Heartlands Hospital where the blue Golf could be seen riddled with bullets. In a statement, he said he believed he was going die that day as thoughts of not returning to his family rushed through his head.

The victim described the 'devastating impact' of the shooting which included him losing his job and piling added financial pressure on his wife. He detailed how the incident has left him with ongoing pain in his leg and stomach as well as affected his mental health.

He said: "As much as I want to move on from the incident, knowing one of the bullets is still inside me is a constant reminder of the traumatic events."

After the shooting Khan and his accomplice met another male in Lupin Grove to offload the gun. They discarded the Toyota in Maybank, Bordesley Green before walking to where Ajaz was waiting in his SEAT.

The pair involved in the drive-by shooting flew to Pakistan on May 10 last year only for Khan to be arrested at Birmingham Airport upon his return a few months later. Back in October 2020 police had raided his address and recovered mobile phones which showed he was involved in 'street level dealing' of cocaine and heroin that year.

Roderick Johnson KC, defending, told the court Khan had experienced difficulties in his childhood and had been involved in dealing drugs from the age of 15. He added: "He is private, reserved, unexpressive and has a tendency to understate things. It is strange such a person should have lent himself to this wicked enterprise."

Khadim Al'Hassan, mitigating for Ajaz, said his involvement had had a 'devastating effect on his family'. He told the court his client had hoped to 'follow in the footsteps' of his other siblings who have pursued professional careers.

The barrister added that Ajaz has become an enhanced prisoner in custody and intends to go to university when he is released. Judge Andrew Smith, passing sentence, said: "This was a determined, organised and carefully planned shooting with intent to kill."

He added it was 'more by luck than judgement' that the victim was not killed or more seriously injured.