Man jailed for attempting to derail firearms trial

A man has been jailed for 18 months for his role in a plan to derail a serious firearms trial at Bradford Crown Court.

Raja Imtiaz, 40, of Queens Road, Stockport, had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to pervert the course of justice in relation to the trial of two men charged with possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life.

Imtiaz had been recruited by Kashif Hussain, 47, from Oldham, who had fled to Pakistan to avoid being on trial himself, to try and prevent a key witness in the two men's trial from giving evidence.

Sentencing Imtiaz, Judge Sophie McKone described him as being Hussain's "eyes and ears" in the UK in the lead-up to the trial of the two men in August 2022.

Shakeal Rehman, 34, and Fiesal Khalil, 43, were due to stand trial after a sawn-off shotgun was fired at a family home in Bradford in January 2022, and the judge said Hussain and Imtiaz had done everything they could to put a key witness in fear of attending.

The court heard that the men discussed how the complainant should be forced to make a retraction video in which he would withdraw his complaint and say he was not doing it out of fear.

A video of the complainant reading from a "script" was sent to the court, but at the trial the judge ruled that his original statement could still be read to the jury.

Shakeal Rehman, 34, and Fiesal Khalil, 43, were later both found guilty despite the actions of the Imtiaz.

Rehman, of Haworth Road, Heaton, Bradford, was jailed for life with a minimum term of eight years behind bars.

Khalil, of Whetley Lane, Manningham, Bradford, was jailed for 14 years.

"You effectively did Hussain's bidding when you were in the UK and he was out of the country," Judge McKone told Imtiaz during his sentencing.

"You were his eyes and ears and you, together with him, wanted to make sure that the complainant's statement would not be read at court and that he would be kept away."

The judge said she accepted he had been recruited and may have acted out of a "sense of misplaced loyalty".

"But it is very clear from the messages between you that you were not put under any pressure to take part and you had a very active role.

"You were clearly a very enthusiastic participant in that conspiracy."

Hussain was not jailed for his role until February when he was sentenced to a total jail term of six years after he admitted offences of conspiracy to possess a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence and conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.

The judge said ultimately the plan did not succeed, but Imtiaz had played his part in trying to prevent two men guilty of serious offending being brought to court and facing justice.

She heard that Imtiaz suffered from a chronic medical condition and was also awaiting the results of a biopsy relating to suspected colon cancer.

Although she was urged to consider a suspended sentence, she said the offending was so serious that only an immediate prison sentence could be justified.

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