A botched shooting plot ended with one alleged gunman accidentally shooting his accomplice in the leg, leading to prison sentences for those involved.
Adam Liaqat, 19, from Sandwell, mistakenly fired the weapon at his accomplice Asad Khan, 23, of West Bromwich, causing injuries that will have a lasting impact.
The pair were sitting in a parked car before a planned attack in the early hours of November 23 when the gun discharged. Khan was left in severe pain on the passenger seat.
He eventually took a taxi to hospital, where he claimed not to know how he had been injured. Medical staff were unconvinced, however, and detectives from the West Midlands Major Crime Team launched an investigation.
Police found that the men had travelled to St Paul’s Road in Smethwick, West Midlands, in a Mitsubishi Outlander. The gun went off shortly before 4.30am. The vehicle had been stolen from Rowley Regis, about three miles away, the previous evening.
After Khan underwent surgery and was considered medically fit, officers arrested him and seized his mobile phone.
Liaqat was arrested on December 2 after police pursued a Honda Accord he was driving, despite holding only a provisional licence.
He and passenger Yakuba Sawaneh, from Perry Common in Birmingham, threw several items from the car windows, including Class A drugs and a burner phone, before officers stopped the vehicle and detained them.
Asad Khan, 23, was accidentally shot in the leg by his accomplice and was jailed for 13 years
Adam Liaqat, 19, allegedly shot Khan while they were travelling in the stolen vehicle and will be sentenced at a later date
Yakuba Sawaneh, 19, was jailed for 42 months for possessing heroin and crack cocaine with intent to supply
The damaged Mitsubishi was pierced by a bullet when Liaqat’s gun accidentally discharged
During the investigation, officers found a message between Khan and another person suggesting that Khan and Liaqat had been on their way to carry out a shooting before the plan went wrong.
A subsequent search of Khan’s home uncovered crack cocaine.
The firearm used in the incident has never been recovered.
At sentencing today, Khan was jailed for 13 years after being convicted of possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life, possessing Class A cocaine and being carried in a conveyance without authority, along with driving offences.
Sawaneh received a 42-month prison sentence for possessing Class A heroin and crack cocaine with intent to supply.
Liaqat is due to be sentenced at a later date.
DC Emily Fowler said previously: ‘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 went off, injuring Khan and damaging the inside of the vehicle.’
‘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.
‘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 face losing their freedom and spending time behind bars.’
