Rapper jailed for life after drive-by shooting

A rapper has been jailed for life after a drive-by shooting in west London, in which the victim was shot six times in the head, mouth and body.

Nathan Tokosi, also known as DigDat, fired at 27-year-old Daniel Offei‑Ntow in Notting Hill through an open car window in November 2023, leaving him requiring two lifesaving surgeries.

Tokosi, 26, of Deptford in south-east London, was jailed for a minimum of 24 years after being convicted of attempted murder and firearms offences following two trials at the Old Bailey last year.

Det Insp Chris Shepherd of the Metropolitan Police described Tokosi's actions as "premeditated, reckless and malicious".

When firearms officers were called to Clydesdale Road in the early hours of 20 November, they found the victim's car abandoned and covered in blood.

After following a trail of blood, officers discovered Offei‑Ntow sitting on the sofa in his flat "in shock and severely injured".

Helen Shaw, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said it was an "utterly mindless attack which very nearly claimed a life".

"That night, Nathan Tokosi clearly intended to kill his victim by shooting him in the head at close range, with CCTV revealing Tokosi doing several drives around the area in a stolen Audi in the days and hours before the shooting," she added.

The stolen Audi was later dumped back in its parking space after the attack, along with the firearm used.

In mitigation, the court heard that Tokosi was a "laidback" young man who had been swept up in the success of his music career and the "fast‑paced and chaotic" lifestyle that came with it.

However, he had a long history of violence, with convictions dating back to the age of 11, when he punched a girl in the face and, in a separate incident, punched and kneed a boy in the head.

At 13, he stabbed a victim in the ribs, receiving a seven‑year youth detention sentence and three years on extended licence for attempted murder.

At a trial last February, Tokosi was convicted attempted murder, possessing a self‑loading pistol and ammunition with intent to endanger life, as well as possessing a prohibited firearm and ammunition.

Following a second Old Bailey trial in November, he was further convicted of possessing a firearm and ammunition.

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