Yasir Hussain 'killed in hate-filled feud between two families'

The victim tried to flee after his car was rammed into the Golden City restaurant in Dudley by a van containing at least seven men armed with metal bars, firearms and a machete – but he was caught and fatally knifed in the back.

Nabeel Choudhary, 21, and Arkash Tasleem, 24, are charged with murdering 34-year-old Yasir Hussain outside the takeaway in Central Drive, Lower Gornal, on December 4 last year, Birmingham Crown Court heard.

The driver of the Fiesta car, Morrad Hussain, believed to have been the intended victim of the attack, escaped up an alleyway.

He later identified the defendants as being front-seat passengers in the van, both jumping out and brandishing weapons at him, Choudhary pointing a handgun and Tasleem armed with a machete.

The murder followed a year of “tit for tat” incidents between two feuding Dudley families, many involving hit and run attacks, said Mr James Curtis, QC, prosecuting.

On November 26 Choudhary is alleged to have mown down Mohammed Waseem, a member of the opposing family, as he stood on the pavement in Shaw Road, Dudley causing him potentially serious injuries said Mr Custis.

A week later on December 2, Tasleem was at the wheel of a car which drove up to Mr Waseem outside a barber shop in Dudley high street. Choudhary, in the passenger seat, is alleged to have shouted out of the window at him: “You’ll get it next time.”

The threat was part of escalating violence between the two warring sides which made both groups nervous, said Mr Curtis.

As a result Morrad Hussain, a driver for the Golden City takeaway, asked his cousin Yasir Hussain, who was visiting from his home in Nelson, Burnley, to accompany him on his delivery round two days later so he would not be alone.

“He was not involved in this feud – tragically he was the one who was killed,” said Mr Curtis.

The rivalry mainly involved Morrad Hussain, 35, and his brother-in-law Mohammed Waseem, 41, versus Nabeel Choudhary and his father Arshad Choudhary, known as the Castle Cars Group, as they worked out of the Dudley taxi firm, but also involved their extended families and friends.

“There was a long-running and ever-increasing hatred between these two families, the origins of which are lost in the mists of time,” said Mr Curtis.

There were a number of violent incidents between the two factions in 2017-2018, he went on. These involved baseball bat attacks, bricks through windows, and hit-and-runs, one resulting in a broken leg.

Shots had been fired into the home of one of the defendants on a couple of occasions and in March last year another family member was dragged into a car and assaulted with a machete and threatened with a gun.

Both sides reported the incidents to the police which occasionally led to criminal proceedings, the jury heard.

Mr Curtis said: “The cradle of this case is that the flames were still burning on both sides in late 2018 and were showing every sign of running out of control.”

The court heard that each defendant is expected to deny they were present at the scene.

Choudhary, of Hope Street, West Bromwich, and Tasleem, of Broadway West in Walsall, both deny murder.

Choudhary also pleads not guilty to attempted grievous bodily harm and dangerous driving on November 26 and possession of an imitation firearm with intent, while Tasleem denies possession of a machete.

The trial continues.