Two Dudley men given life sentences for killing taxi boss in 'tit-for-tat' feud

Mohammed Haroon Zeb, known as Haroon or 'H', was shot in the head on his 39th birthday in a drive-by attack in the Queens Cross area of Dudley on January 31, 2021.

He was taken to hospital, but died the next day.

Hassan Tasleem, 25, of Richmond Road, Dudley and Gurdeep Sandhu, 25, of Blower's Green Road, Dudley were both found guilty of murdering the father-of-four in unanimous verdicts, after a trial held at Leicester Court sitting at Loughborough.

Both were also found guilty of possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life and perverting the course of justice.

Sentencing them on Thursday, Mr Justice Bennathan handed them life prison sentences and told them they will have to serve a minimum term of 30 years.

Shamraz Ali, 21, of Tanfield Road, Dudley, was previously found guilty of perverting the course of justice and has now been sentenced to five years in jail.

The prosecution case was that the victim was killed as a result of an historic 'tit-for-tat' feud between two groups of families that escalated from street disorder with knives to murder and maiming.

Mr Zeb had been returning home when he was shot by Tasleem, who was a passenger of a Volkswagen Golf being driven by Sandhu.

Mr James Curtis KC, prosecuting, said it was a planned shooting, with Sandhu slowing down for the shots to be fired, before the car was immediately driven to a 'changeover point' where it was hidden and the occupants moved to a getaway car.

He told the court there was a 'high degree of pre-meditation' and it took place on a main road in Dudley, which was a further aggravating factor.

A victim impact statement from one of Mr Zeb's cousins, read to the court by Mr Curtis, said "losing Haroon left a huge void in the lives of every family member" and described him as the "light of the family".

He said Mr Zeb's daughter had recently celebrated her 16th birthday, adding: "The deep sadness she felt on this special day is heartbreaking".

Meanwhile words read to the court from Mr Zeb's father said: "Haroon was greatly loved by all.

"Every breath I take is a struggle now my son is no longer here.

"I feel I've lost a part of my soul."

He said the family were grateful for the support police had offered.

Mr Bernard Tetlow KC, representing Tasleem, said he now took responsibility for causing the death of Mr Zeb and had expressed remorse and regret for his actions.

Mr John Femi-Ola KC, representing Sandhu, said he was also remorseful and Mr Andrew Kerr, for Ali, asked for the judge to be merciful as possible when passing sentence.

Mr Justice Bennathan said Mr Zeb had been "his parents' pride and joy".

He said there had been a long-running feud in Dudley and there had been numerous incidents of criminal damage, threats, assaults and even a previous murder.

The judge said he believed the murder of Mr Zeb was carried out in retaliation to a previous attack, although Mr Zeb had played no part in that.

Sentencing Tasleem and Sandhu, he said they had both "played a key role" in Mr Zeb's murder.

He said the use of a powerful firearm in a public street was an aggravating factor, adding: "You helped to create a climate of fear".

Sandhu was also sentenced for two counts of being in possession of Class A drugs with intent to supply, from April 2020.

Police had found him in possession of £220 in cash, as well as 43 wraps of cocaine and 48 wraps of heroin, with a street value of up to £910, the court heard.

Several other men who had also been on trial with the defendants were cleared of murder.

During the trial, Tasleem denied that he was the person who fired a revolver four times from the front passenger seat of a VW Golf shortly after 12.30am, and told the jury that another man who was not involved in the trial was responsible for the attack.

Mr Curtis had told the jury: “The murder was the latest spat in a long-running and escalating feud between two families in Dudley. It happened after a series of tit for tat allegations, perceived revenge atrocities, incidents of criminal damage passing back and forth.

“The allegations on both sides are inextricably linked between the two family groups going back over months and years. One atrocity by one group led to reprisals from another group. They didn’t let it go.”