Jury told of chilling ‘revenge murder & gun plot’
A REVENGE-FUELLED murder plot and deals to sell ‘astonishingly lethal’ weapons, including an AK47 and an Uzi, were revealed by the EncroChat hack, a jury heard.
Law enforcement agencies gained access to the secure phone network, which had allowed users to communicate in secrecy.
Five men have gone on trial at Manchester Crown Court, with four accused of conspiracy to murder. Prosecutors allege that Brandon Moore, 24 and Jordan Waring, 23, sought revenge after being shot in Kersal, Salford, last April.
They are said to have recruited gun runner Umair Zaheer from Eccles in their alleged bid to murder a man to ‘hit back.’
In messages later recovered by police, Zaheer’s EncroChat phone, which used the handle ‘mymorly,’ sent a message to a phone used by the pair which read: “Get a location for this kid and we will end it.”
Another EncroChat message from the handle ‘remoteplug’ used by Moore and Waring read: “Oh yes he’s a dead man.”
No such plot ever materialised. Zaheer, 34, who also used another EncroChat handle named ‘Assassin’s creed,’ Moore, Waring and another man called Louis Coleman ,23, deny conspiracy to murder and an alternative of conspiracy to possess firearms or ammunition with intent to endanger life.
Zaheer, alongside a man called Robert Brazendale, 34, is also accused of being involved in a plot to sell an arsenal of weapons and ammunition.
“These were not the weapons of casual thuggery, they included assault rifles with all of the terrible implications generated by that description,” prosecutor Tim Storrie QC said.
“They were guns and ammunition... designed to wreak havoc of the most catastrophic kind.”
Prosecutors allege Zaheer brokered deals and Brazendale stored weapons and had cash and guns.
The conspiracy is alleged to involve the sale of an AK47 for £10,500, as well as a £37,000 deal for a Skorpion machine pistol, the Uzi sub machine gun and a Taurus Brasil revolver and ammunition.
Jurors were also told about the expensive EncroChat devices.
Moore and Waring, both of no fixed address, arrived at Salford Royal Hospital on April 3 2020 with gunshot wounds, discharging themselves the following day.
“They did not report the incident to the police, or seek the help of the police,” Mr Storrie said.
“They preferred to take control of events themselves on the streets and hit back.”
Prosecutors say details of the alleged plot were found on EncroChat messages recovered by police. A week later, Moore was arrested with others also being held. Mr Storrie said: “No shot was ever fired, it’s accordingly the case that the plot to kill him came to nothing.
“Had he been found before he went out of the way, or before any of them was arrested, the plan to kill him would have been carried out.”
Jurors heard on April 14 last year, using the EncroChat handle ‘Assassin’s creed,’ Zaheer sent a list of weapons for sale to another user, including an Uzi, a Skorpion machine gun and an AK47.
Brazendale was said to have been involved in the handover of an AK47 and ammunition, using a red Citroen van as transport.
He is also accused of being involved in a £37,000 deal selling a Skorpion, Uzi and revolver, meeting a contact at Tesco in Thelwall, Warrington. The firearms and more 300 rounds of ammunition were later found at a house in Brent, London, plus a silencer. A third deal involving an AK47 is also alleged. That was later found in a roof void at a business park in Warrington. Zaheer later received the message: “Bro they found it.’’’ Jurors were told Zaheer, of no fixed address and Brazendale, of Selworthy Drive, Warrington, have admitted conspiring to transfer prohibited weapons, but deny intending it would endanger lives. Zaheer and Coleman, of Pendlecroft Avenue, Salford, have pleaded guilty to conspiracies to supply class A and B drugs.
They were guns and ammunition... designed to wreak havoc of the most catastrophic kind Tim Storrie QC