'Key' gang member who stormed a shop firing guns and wielding machetes is jailed

The last member of a violent gang who smashed and shot their way into a Smethwick shop has been jailed. At around midday on 12 January, 2023, a Ford Fiesta pulled up outside City Computers on Bertram Road and a group ran inside wielding machetes and a gun.

Shots were fired at the business and the windows and doors smashed. One victim was hit in the arm by a gunshot and another victim suffered a neck injury.

A major investigation was launched and detectives placed Jamal Hussain as the driver of the Ford Fiesta after extensive CCTV and forensic mobile phone work. CCTV footage from the previous day, showed the gang scouting out the route from their Walsall addresses to the Bertram Road vicinity.

Read More: Chilling CCTV of gang shooting and smashing way into shop before ringleader fled country

Azeem Hussain, 26, was identified as a 'key player' in the crime but he fled the country soon after the incident. He was arrested from the airport following his return to the UK in April this year.

Hussain, from Walsall admitted to charges brought against him at a previous hearing and was jailed for eight years at Worcester Crown Court on Thursday (11 Sept). Five men from Walsall have already been jailed for their part in the attack.

Last August Haider Shabir, aged 21, was jailed for 14 years, Mohammed Uwais Latif, aged 24, was jailed for nine years and ten months and Mohammed Tayyib Wajid, aged 26, was jailed for 21 months.

In April, Ahmed Aumair, aged 21, was jailed for 12 years and six months. Jamal Hussain, aged 22, was jailed for nine years and two months in September.

Detective Inspector Francis Nock from our Major Crime Unit said: “All six men involved in this planned armed attack have been convicted and sentenced. Azeem Hussain was a key player in this operation and has received a lengthy jail sentence to reflect this.

“This could have easily been a fatal attack but miraculously, the injuries of the two victims were not serious.

“Weapons have no place on our streets and we will continue to bring those to justice who think it’s acceptable to use them to bring violence into our communities."