Two hitmen jailed for nearly 30 years after one accidentally shot the other

Two men had to scrap their planned attack after one would-be hitman accidentally shot his companion.

Adam Liaqat, 19, and Asad Khan, 22, had parked up in St Paul’s Road, Smethwick, West Midlands, at around 4.30am on November 23 last year.

Police claimed they had ‘put in a lot of pre-planning and preparation’ for the shooting, only for it to go awry.

The pair were sitting in a 4×4, allegedly planning to carry out a shooting when their firearm went off, damaging the car and seriously injuring Khan.

He was shot in the leg, forcing the duo to abandon their plan as he now had to hail a taxi to the hospital.

When he reached the emergency room, he initially claimed he didn’t know what had happened.

Detectives from West Midlands Police’s Major Crime Team launched an investigation and uncovered the pair’s botched shooting plot.

Police conducted a search of Khan’s phone, which revealed messages suggesting the pair were attempting to carry out a hit.

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.’

At a later raid of Khan’s house, crack cocaine was discovered.

Officers also discovered the Mitsubishi Outlander they were using had been stolen the night before and fitted with false plates.

Fowler added: ‘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.’

Liaqat was arrested days later after leading cops on a pursuit in a Honda Accord despite only holding a provisional license.

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, West Mids.

‘Lives could have been lost as a result of Liaqat and Khan arming themselves with a gun, including Khan’s own,’ Fowler continued.

‘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.’

All three men went on trial at Wolverhampton Crown Court and were convicted in May.

Liaqat, of Sandwell, was jailed for 15 years after being found guilty of possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life and Class A drug dealing offenses.

Khan, of West Bromwich, was convicted of possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life and possession of Class A drugs and was caged for 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.

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