Bungling robbers found guilty of shooting dead company director after he refused to hand over £50,000 to them
Businessman Suraj Mistry was found guilty of manslaughter at Birmingham Crown Court, while student Lemar Wali was acquitted
A GROUP of bungling robbers have been found guilty of shooting a company director dead after he refused to hand over £50,000.
A businessman has been found guilty of manslaughter after shooting tragic Akhtar Javeed dead at point-blank range during the botched robbery.
The 56-year-old was blasted in the foot, leg, throat and mouth as he fought off two gunmen who burst into his cash-and-carry armed with .25-caliber pistols at around 6.30pm on February 3.
An international manhunt is underway to catch alleged killer Tahir Zarif, 25, who reportedly fled to Pakistan before police could catch him and remains in hiding.
His former business partner Suraj Mistry, 26, was yesterday cleared of murder but convicted of manslaughter following a six-week trial at Birmingham Crown Court.
Getaway driver Lemar Wali, 19, was cleared of murder and manslaughter but found guilty of conspiring to rob Akhtar.
The victim's daughter Lilas Javeed, 30, closed her eyes and looked at the floor when she heard the jury's decision in the public gallery.
Yesterday Akhtar's tearful widow and other members of the Javeed family left the public gallery at Birmingham Crown Court - as shocking footage of the raid was played to the jury.
Out of respect for the family, Judge Philip Parker QC ordered members of the public to leave the courtroom shortly before Mr Javeed was shown being shot repeatedly as he fought for his life.
The heroic grandfather was one of six members of staff working at the Direct Source 3 Ltd depot in Digbeth, Birmingham, when Suraj Mistry, 26, and Tahir Zarif, 25, stormed in and demanded cash from the safe, prosecutors claim.
They used plastic cable to bind the hands of Mr Javeed and his terrified colleagues in the company office and threatened to execute them unless the boss handed over thousands of pounds in takings.
He was marched into the corridor at gunpoint and Zarif opened fire with a silenced repeater pistol as he made a break for the exit with his hands still tied.
The jury was told the Pakistan-born dad-of-four managed to stagger outside, but collapsed on the pavement in Rea Street South and died instantly from choking on his own blood as the raiders fled empty-handed in a silver Renault Megane driven by 19-year-old Lemar Wali.
They were arrested after cops raided Mistry's business in Derby and found a detailed map of Mr Javeed's warehouse written on the back of a water bill.
It had been supplied by an ex-employee who was made redundant just days before the robbery.
Car body shop director Mistry, of Laundon Way, Leicester, appeared alongside student mechanic Wali, of Osmaston Park Road, Derby, in the dock accused of murder, conspiracy to commit robbery and possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear or violence.
Mistry's business partner Asif Aurangzaib, 25, of Leacroft Road, Derby, also appeared charged with conspiracy to commit robbery.
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Shooter Zarif, of Osmaston Park Road, Derby, fled to Pakistan after the murder and is still at large.
The CCTV footage shows Wali's Megane drive through the entrance of Mr Javeed's business and pull into a parking space.
Zarif leaps out followed by Mistry carrying a backpack.
The masked robbers bolt into the reception of the warehouse carrying handguns and storm a meeting room where they find two stunned members of staff sat a conference table.
Zarif points his repeater pistol at the men while Mistry takes their phones and marches them into the office.
Meanwhile, a member of staff returns from the warehouse and stumbles across the hold-up. He makes a run for the door but is grabbed by Zarif and pushed into the office.
Mr Javeed - wearing a woolly hat and spectacles - is then ordered out of the office at gunpoint and Zarif leads him into the corridor while Mistry stays behind to keep the staff subdued.
In the horrific CCTV clip the jury saw Mr Javeed backing away with his hands held up as he was stalked by Zarif and shot in the foot for refusing to hand over the cash.
The victim hobbled backwards through the corridor, followed by Zarif who coldly took aim at his leg and fired.
Defenceless Mr Javeed then made a desperate effort to escape, lunging at the gunman who shot him in the throat and mouth as they fought.
Mr Javeed was then seen limping out of the reception door leaving a trail of blood as he exited the building and made it out onto the street.
Zarif ran back to the office to warn Mistry and the pair fled in a panic, escaping in Wali's getaway car.
Facial impetigo sufferer Mistry, wearing a pale blue shirt and grey trousers, showed no emotion as he watched from the dock flanked by five security guards.
Wali, wearing a beige jumper and blue jeans, also sat emotionless as the footage was played.
Prosecutor James Curtis QC told the jury: "Zarif points his gun at the centre of Akhtar's chest, gesturing him to get out.
"Akhtar is unarmed, defenceless and helpless. He's not running anywhere, both his hands are tied. Look at the gun, you can see the muzzle flip as the gunman fires, then he aims straight at his head.
"He has clearly been shot and he can't use his left leg.
"Wounded, he fights back. They go into the reception area but he can't walk properly. There's blood spewing on the floor. He's been shot in the throat. He gets out and walks around the corner but that is as far as he got.
"Mistry and Zarif get in Wali's car and it drives away before the doors are even shut."
The Megane drove to a nearby road and dropped Mistry off at his silver Volkswagen Golf. Both cars were spotted on CCTV fleeing the area, the court heard.
Automatic number plate recognition cameras had captured Wali driving Zarif from Derby to Birmingham in his Megane on the afternoon of the raid while Mistry drove to the city from Leicester.
Mobile phone records placed all three of them in the vicinity of Direct Source 3 Ltd around the time of the robbery.
At the opening of the trial on Tuesday, the jury was told Mr Javeed was betrayed by "inside man" Sander van Aalten, 50, who lost his job with the firm "a matter of days" prior to the murder.
Cash drops of "tens of thousands of pounds" were regularly made to the warehouse and van Aalten "knew where the safe was and when it was full".
The prosecutor said that although Mistry and Wali did not pull the trigger they were guilty of murder through "joint participation" and were fully prepared to use the "threat of death or really serious injury".
Mistry, Zarif and Aurangzaib ran Derby-based ATS Detailing and Wrap Works Ltd, which specialised in bespoke high-end vehicle modifications.
Wali did not work there but was an "associate" of the defendants.
Shortly before the robbery, Mistry and Zarif made a complaint to Derbyshire Police of someone trying to blackmail them and "enforce a debt with threats".
Mr Javeed - known as "Big Brother"; to staff - opened his Digbeth warehouse in 2014 and the grandfather-of-one divided his time between Birmingham and his home in East Ham, London.
The defendants denied all the charges.
Dutch national van Aalten, of Sparkbrook, Birmingham, has already pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit robbery.
The jury will continue its deliberations today.
The court has set a provisional sentencing date of September 26.
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