Sultan Bakr (22) of Hyde Road, Gorton, Sikander Babar (24) and Abdul Wahab Babar (18) both of Ashdale Drive, Withington, were found guilty at Minshull Street Crown Court.
On Tuesday, they were all sentenced to life imprisonment.
In the early hours of the morning on January 22, 2024, Sadiq Al-Lami was going to meet a friend when, by chance, he was attacked and stabbed eleven times whilst at the junction near Parrs Wood in East Didsbury.
A witness described seeing the defendants in a black car which stopped alongside the victim’s car at the junction. Three men emerged from the car, approached the victim and there was a physical altercation. Sadiq tried to get away, but these men fatally stabbed him.
Despite the best efforts of emergency responders at the scene, Sadiq died as a result of his injuries.
In an attempt to evade police, each of the men made great bids to discard of evidence and leave Manchester.
However, what they didn’t realise was that during the commotion, a parcel addressed to Noraiz Kamal was dropped and left at the scene, providing crucial evidence for police. Also recovered from the scene was a cigarette and several balloons, with DNA matching the defendants.
With this breakthrough, armed police attended Kamal’s house in South Manchester to arrest him. Alerted to the police, Kamal made a 10 second call to Sikander Babar. Shortly after this call, Babar’s number becomes inactive and no longer in use.
Working around the clock to establish the circumstances of this tragic incident, police located the black Mercedes from the night of the attack abandoned at the junction of Boothfield Drive and Royalthorn Road in Wythenshawe. The car was recovered for forensic analysis and extensive CCTV and phone work analysis showed the men ordered a taxi from that area back to their home addresses.
Each of the men seemingly carried on with their lives after the brutal attack. Abdul Babar messaged his hairdresser to book in for a haircut, and Sultan Bakr spent the day ordering fast food deliveries, seemingly unaffected or unbothered by what had taken place the night before.
In custody, evidence from Kamal’s mobile phone led police to identify Sultan Bakr who matched the description of one of the men involved in the attack and later abandoning the car. Later, police also identified Sikander Babar from the device.
Phone analysis showed that just hours after the attack, Abdul Babar was searching the Manchester Evening News – likely to see if news had broken of the attack. Shortly after 7am, his search history shows him reading the breaking news story of the incident.
Later that day he searched online for a solicitor. He also received a message on social media saying, ‘Yo fam so what now u gotta lay low bro go back pk’, with Babar replying, ‘good idea’.
That evening, shortly after 11pm, Bakr took a taxi to Manchester Coach Station and purchased two tickets to London, both leaving at slightly different times and taking different routes.
On arrival in London, Bakr went to a house on Lakeside Drive. He was arrested in the following days by the Metropolitan Police after being tracked to the address by GMP detectives. In response to his caution, all he had to say was ‘I’m shocked.’ His mobile phone was found down the side of a sofa, it was seized by police and provided further crucial evidence for detectives.
On January 29, Abdul and Sikander Babar were discovered in the back of a lorry at a recycling centre in Essex. Phone evidence showed that they were attempting to leave the country illegally. Following several covert enquiries, the pair were caught on CCTV climbing out of the lorry which is when they were stopped by police who quickly realised that they were wanted for murder in South Manchester. They were swiftly detained and brought back for questioning.
Detective inspector Alex Wilkinson said: “My thoughts, and those of the investigation team, remain with Sadiq’s family and I hope these sentences will give at least some small measure of comfort to his family whilst they continue to deal with the immeasurable pain and heartbreak they are going through.”
Sadiq was described by his family as ‘a son, brother, uncle, a husband, and a friend for many. Each and every single person that knew him will be impacted in their own way. His memories will live with us and will be forever cherished.’
DI Wilkinson added: “Sadiq lost his life in such a cold and senseless attack. These men had a choice that night and for reasons only known to them, they chose to resort to violence. They have shown no remorse for their actions, and from the very start they have tried to destroy evidence, distance themselves from this attack, even turning against each other in court to try and shift the blame.”
