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An international search is underway for an American assassin who was hired by a British father and son to settle a dispute, but botched the hit when her gun jammed.
Aimee Betro, 44, who has ties to Illinois, was hired by Mohammed Aslam, 56, and his son Mohammed Nazir, 30, to carry out a revenge killing against a clothing boutique owner and his relatives.
The hitwoman disguised herself with a hijab while trying to shoot him dead Sikander Ali outside a house in Acocks Green, Birmingham, on September 7, 2019, but the gun jammed.
He later returned in a taxi and fired three shots at the property before sending a text message to his main target, Ali’s father, Aslat Mahamud: “Stop playing hide and seek” and “Where are you hiding?”
Betro flew back to Chicago two days after the botched contract killing and today West Midlands Police said efforts to find her are “continuing”.
Mohammed Aslam (pictured) and his son Mohammed Nazir hired Aimee Betro, 44, to carry out a revenge murder against a clothing boutique owner and his relatives.
Nazir, convicted of conspiracy to murder along with his father on Monday
Nazir and Aslam, convicted of conspiracy to murder on Monday, harbored a grudge against Ali’s family. following a violent dispute at her clothing boutique in Birmingham on July 21, 2018, which saw windows smashed and the interior “trashed”.
The police arrived and found that Nazir and Aslam had been injured.
In September 2019, the pair flew Betro from the United States to Birmingham in an attempt to kill Ali and his family.
During her stay in the UK, the hitwoman stayed in hotels in Manchester, Derby, London, Brighton and Birmingham, including a Radisson Blu.
While in Derby, he allegedly made an insurance claim claiming he had suffered a puncture in a hire car before crashing into two stationary vehicles, one of which was owned by Aslam.
On September 6, Nazir and Aslam traveled from their home in Derby to Birmingham city centre, with Nazir spending more than two hours in a hotel with Betro, who ordered takeaway from Deliveroo.
Betro had arranged to meet Ali the next day under the pretext of buying a car.
Birmingham Crown Court heard how Betro, disguised in a hijab, pulled up in a Mercedes before Ali pulled up in a nearby Audi.
Kevin Hegarty KC, prosecuting, said: “At that point the alleged killer got out of the driver’s side of the Mercedes.
‘When he got out of the Mercedes he left the driver’s door open. He calmly walked towards Sikander Ali and pointed a gun at him at the height of his head.
‘When she approached Sikander Ali, he saw her and saw the gun and she pulled the trigger to shoot him. Fortunately for him, the gun jammed.
Hegarty said Ali quickly reversed and drove off, while Betro abandoned his Mercedes nearby, where he was later found by police.
Measham Grove in Acocks Green, Birmingham, where the attempted attack took place
The next morning, he took a taxi to the house and fired three shots at the property before returning to the taxi. No one was injured.
He then sent threatening text messages to the head of the family, Aslat Mahamud, before fleeing to the United States two days later.
Police launched an investigation into the shootings and the trail led to Aslam and Nazir. Detectives were able to piece together his involvement through his phones, CCTV and financial investigations.
The jury heard that Nazir flew to the United States a few days after Betro, whom he appointed as his point of contact for travel documentation, but was arrested after his return to the UK the following month. Aslam was also arrested.
Nazir was found guilty of conspiracy to murder and possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence on Wednesday, June 5.
He was also found guilty of perverting the course of justice and illegally importing firearms in a plot to smuggle weapons into the country and then shifting the blame to another person to frame them.
Betro had shipped weapons from Illinois, according to a tip received by police.
Aslam was found guilty of conspiracy to murder. He was acquitted of a firearms offence.
The couple will be sentenced on August 9.
Detective Inspector Matt Marston, of West Midlands Police, said: “Aslam and Nazir were determined to get revenge after a fight in which they were injured.
‘The lengths they went to to ensure they were not involved in pulling the trigger are immense.
“However, thanks to some excellent police work and the support of our Derbyshire colleagues, we were able to place them firmly in the middle of the attempted murder.”
A second general view of Measham Grove, where the attempted murder took place.
A spokesperson added to MailOnline: “Efforts are continuing to locate a woman who we believe has been involved in the conspiracy.”
Derbyshire Police said: “That no one has died as a result of Aslam and Nazir’s actions is due solely to sheer good luck.”
“Their plan was to kill and if it hadn’t been for the gun jamming, then there’s a good chance this would have been a murder investigation.”
‘The importation of firearms is an extremely serious crime, and in this case the purpose was to frame the target in revenge for a previous incident.
“As a police service, we will do everything we can to target those who seek to introduce these weapons into our communities and bring them to justice.”
High-profile murderers responsible for multiple deaths
Kim Hyun-hui: North Korean agent who killed 115 people and then defected
Kim Hyun-hui in 2018
The mother of two killed 115 people as an agent of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-il, father of Kim Jong Un.
She was involved in the bombing of Korean Air Flight 858 from Baghdad to Seoul on November 29, 1987, killing everyone on board.
Kim was selected at age 18 to join North Korea’s secret service because of her ability to speak multiple languages. After rigorous training, she received her first commission at age 25.
She and her co-agent Kim Seung Il traveled to Austria posing as a Japanese couple on vacation.
They picked up the bomb (a Panasonic radio filled with chemicals) in Vienna and transported it to Baghdad airport.
The plan almost backfired when security guards examined the device before its flight.
One removed the batteries the bomb needed to explode and said Kim couldn’t bring them on board.
Kim has now been pardoned and works for South Korea’s National Intelligence Service and is writing her memoirs to warn the world of the North Korean threat.
Kim was involved in the bombing of Korean Air Flight 858 from Baghdad to Seoul on November 29, 1987, killing everyone on board.
María Jiménez: Mexican cartel hitwoman who confessed to having murdered 20 people
María Jiménez, also known as La Tosca, was paid $1,700 (£1,300) a month to carry out murders for the Los Zetas drug cartel.
Mexico’s most prolific assassin confessed to killing 20 people, including rival drug traffickers and a police officer, and was convicted in 2012.
María Jiménez was paid $1,700 (£1,300) a month to carry out murders for the Zetas drug cartel.
He allegedly led a group of men, women and teenagers as Los Zetas fought their rivals in the Gulf Cartel for control of drug distribution and other criminal businesses.
His arrest came days after 23 people were found hanging from a bridge or decapitated and dumped along the border city of Nuevo Laredo.
Daria Trepova: accused of attack against Putin critic
Daria Trepova at court this year
The 26-year-old Russian is accused of deliberately blowing up prominent Vladimir Putin propagandist Vladlen Tatarsky, 40, by handing him a bomb hidden in a statuette.
Prosecutors claim she deliberately passed the bomb to Tatarsky, whose real name was Maxim Fomin, in a St. Petersburg cafe on the orders of Ukrainian intelligence.
Trepova insists that she believed the Tatarsky statuette contained a listening device and is therefore innocent of deliberate murder.
She claims Ukraine believed she would also die, although despite being close to the explosion, she emerged unharmed and fled the scene before being detained.
“They basically sent me to my death with a bomb,” he said, referring to his Ukrainian handlers.
But state prosecutors reject her account and have sought one of the longest sentences for a woman in modern Russian legal history.