Police want club closed which bosses say was ‘being extorted’ Officers fear ‘threat to public’ at shisha lounge where gun was fired
ATROUBLE-HIT shisha bar was being extorted by gangs for ‘protection’ money in the run-up to a shooting which has prompted its closure, it has been claimed.
Further details have also emerged around the incident which has cast doubt over whether Arabian Nites on Bissell Street, Birmingham, will ever be allowed to open again.
It comes as a report was published ahead of a city council licensing hearing on Thursday, where a committee will review the venue’s licence.
Earlier this month magistrates granted West Midlands Police a three-month closure order. The force made the application after a member of the public was wounded by a bullet at Arabian Nites around 5.45am on Saturday, May 26.
The report states a man was hit by a bullet ricochet when a gun was fired in the venue during a reggae night.
It said moments earlier another man, thought to be the intended target, came running past him followed by a crowd of people fleeing in panic.
The victim only suffered a minor injury despite the bullet being lodged in his knee.
Police have since accused club bosses of trying to cover up and distance themselves from the incident.
They even said a man, pretending to be the victim, appeared at court to retract his statement, claiming he had been paid money to say he was shot at Arabian Nites.
The report reveals that following a drive-by shooting at the shisha bar on Sunday, March 25, the club owner told police he was being extorted by an organised crime gang who told him similar incidents would continue unless he paid them ‘protection’ money, which he refused to do.
Although the so-called threats had seemingly reduced in the weeks between that incident and the one in May. The police have further concerns in the wake of the more recent incident. Officers were temporarily denied entry when they attended with a warrant to obtain CCTV of the May 26 shooting.
When they forced entry they found the CCTV hard drives had been ‘ripped out’ which they believe occurred moments before they got in. They have also taken issue with the shisha bar owner’s claim that the venue was closed at the time of the shooting and assertion that it could not have happened there.
The boss tried to back up his claim with CCTV footage apparently showing someone from neighbouring nightclub Art House – which has since closed after a shooting of its own – granting people access to an adjoining car park.
They argued it was how people gained access to Arabian Nites when it was meant to be closed.
In the force’s application to magistrates it stated the manager and coowner appeared to lack “control over Arabian Nites to the point that it has operated without his knowledge or consent and resulted in potentially fatal violence as well as causing a significant threat to members of the public”.
The force added: “West Midlands Police remains very concerned that the continued operation of Arabian Nites will lead to a member of the public suffering serious or fatal harm. Therefore WMP submits that a closure order is necessary to prevent the above mentioned criminal behaviour, serious nuisance or disorder from continuing, recurring or occurring.”