Father and son hired American 'hitwoman' to murder British family in revenge attack

A father and son duo have been sentenced to a total of 42 years behind bars for their roles in a conspiracy to commit murder, after they hired an alleged female hitwoman from the USA to carry out a killing on British soil.

Mohammed Aslam and his son Mohammed Nazir enlisted the services of 44-year-old Aimee Betro, purportedly for a revenge attack in Birmingham. The plot fell apart when the gun malfunctioned during a bungled attempt to assassinate boutique clothing store owner Sikander Ali on the street, reports the Mirror.

Milwaukee-born Betro had taken a selfie with a devil horn filter the day before she allegedly attempted to kill the family. She also shared pictures of cocktails and boasted about meeting her "partner in crime" in Manchester.

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Following the unsuccessful murder attempt, Betro returned to a Birmingham home in a taxi and fired three shots at the house, a court heard. She also sent a taunting text message to Mr Ali's father, Aslat Mahamud, challenging him to "stop playing hide and seek" and questioning "where are you hiding?". After fleeing back to Chicago, UK authorities pursued Nazir, aged 56, and Aslam, aged 30, accusing them of being involved in the assassination plot.

Betro was eventually arrested in Armenia. At a trial held at Birmingham Crown Court in June, both Nazir and Aslam, from Derby, were found guilty of conspiracy to kill. Nazir was also found guilty of illegally importing firearms, perverting the course of justice, and possessing a firearm with the aim to provoke fear of violence.

Jurors were told that following a clash in a high-end clothing shop in 2018, which left both parties