How cannabis factory raiders were already on police radar when their crime spree ended in crossbow murders
A group of cannabis factory raiders were already on the radar of West Midlands Police detectives when their final burglary resulted in the crossbow murders of two men in Dudley.
All 17 men have been convicted for their roles in a string of burglaries which culminated in the deaths of 19-year-old Khuzaimiah Douglas, of Birmingham, and 36-year-old Waseem Ramza in February 2020.
Waseem Ramzan was the brother of Saghawat Ramzan who was jailed alongside his son Omar Ramzan and Mohammed Sageer. Khuzaimiah Douglas was one of the group attempting to raid the property. Waseem and Khuzaimiah both died from crossbow injuries after being struck by Saghawat Ramzan in the ensuing violence.
Detective Superintendent Jim Munro, of West Midlands Police said: “The activities of this group were already on our radar when sadly the raid in Pensnett Road ended in bloodshed.
“Although the murder investigation concluded with three men jailed we have continued our inquiries into those linked in some way to the activities of the group.
“Our officers have studied hours of CCTV and linked hundreds of phone records to place the defendants at the scene of the crimes.This determination has resulted in the guilty pleas we have already seen and the convictions we have achieved at court.”
Prior to the murders an investigation was already un and running after a series of burglaries and attempted burglaries in Walsall and Birmingham in the early hours of December 17, 2019.
The organised crime group were targeting cannabis factories often using a thermal imaging gun to locate them. Another tactic saw them follow likely cannabis farmers who had bought equipment from hydroponic retailers to see where they were based.
The force explained that while not all of the offenders were present at all of the incidents, they were all linked to the enterprise in some way.
