Two men have been jailed for firearms and drug offences after their planned attack was abandoned when one accidentally shot the other. Adam Liaqat, 19, and Asad Khan, 22, were in a stolen 4x4 in Smethwick when the weapon discharged, leaving Khan with serious leg injuries.
Accidental shooting in Smethwick
The pair had parked in St Paul's Road, Smethwick, at around 4.30am on November 23 last year when driver Liaqat fired the gun by mistake. Instead of carrying out the planned attack, Khan was forced to hail a taxi to hospital, where he initially claimed he did not know what had happened.
Detectives from West Midlands Police's Major Crime Team launched an investigation and uncovered the botched shooting plot. Officers found the Mitsubishi Outlander had been stolen the night before and fitted with false plates.
Investigation and arrests
A search of Khan's phone revealed messages suggesting he and Liaqat were on their way to carry out a shooting before the mishap. Police later raided Khan's home and found crack cocaine. Liaqat was arrested days later after leading officers on a pursuit in a Honda Accord despite only holding a provisional licence.
His passenger, Yakuba Sawaneh, 19, was with him when officers saw Class A drugs and a burner phone being tossed from the vehicle before it was stopped in Oldbury.
Convictions and sentences
All three men went on trial at Wolverhampton Crown Court and were convicted in May. Liaqat, of Sandwell, was found guilty of possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life and Class A drug dealing offences, and was jailed for 15 years. Khan, of West Bromwich, was convicted of possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life and possession of Class A drugs, receiving 13 years. Sawaneh, of Perry Common, Birmingham, was found guilty of possession of Class A drugs with intent to supply and jailed for 42 months.
Detective Constable Emily Fowler, of West Midlands Police, said: “Through our enquiries we established Khan and Liaqat were in the stolen vehicle with a gun. There were messages which indicated they were on their way to shoot someone themselves, although we don’t know who that was. At some point, while the car was parked, the gun has gone off and Khan has been injured and the inside of the vehicle damaged. Khan made his own way to hospital and we started to establish exactly what happened. The pair had clearly put in a lot of pre-planning and preparation as a gun and ammunition had been acquired, and a car stolen and put on false plates. However, it went wrong when Liaqat appears to have accidentally shot Khan. Lives could have been lost as a result of Liaqat and Khan arming themselves with a gun, including Khan’s own. Illegally-owned weapons in the wrong hands can be extremely dangerous and it’s why we’re taking action all year-round to tackle gun crime and find offenders. It’s clear Liaqat, Khan and Sawaneh were all linked to drugs and he has also rightly been convicted for his illegal activity too.”
