TikTok influencer and mother ‘murdered’ two men in car crash over sex tape blackmail, court hears
A TikTok influencer murdered her mother’s 21-year-old lover who had blackmailed her with a sex tape, a court has been told.
Saqib Hussain and his friend Mohammed Hashim Ijazuddin, both 21, were killed when their Skoda crashed into a tree after 23-year-old Mahek Bukhari hatched a plot with others to “set a trap”, prosecutors said.
The vehicle was “virtually split in two” by the impact and then caught fire just after midnight on 11 February.
Saqib Hussain was having an affair with Ansreen Bukhari, the court heard
Just before he died, front-seat passenger Mr Hussain made a 999 call to police claiming Mr Ijazuddin’s silver Skoda Fabia was being “blocked in” and rammed by attackers wearing balaclavs who had been following them in two cars.
In a recording of the call played to Leicester Crown Court, he said: “They’re trying to ram us off the road. Please, I’m begging you, I’m going to die.”
He also said “Oh my God”, before there was a scream and the call cut off at the sound of an impact.
Police footage from the scene showed the Skoda in flames in the central reservation of the A46 dual carriageway, by the Six Hills junction near Leicester.
The two men, from Banbury, Oxfordshire, had been friends since school. Mr Ijazuddin had agreed to drive his friend to Leicester that night – described as a “fatal mistake that cost him his life” by prosecutors.
Mohammed Hashim Ijazuddin was in the car with Mr Hussain when it crashed
Collingwood Thompson KC, prosecuting, said Mr Hussain’s 999 call was a key indicator that the crash “was not simply a tragic road traffic accident but a deliberate murder”.
Ansreen Bukhari and her daughter Mahek Bukhari, from Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, deny murder.
Mr Hussain’s family later told detectives he was having a three-year affair with 45-year-old Ansreen Bukhari, who was married with children.
Mahek Bukhari and her mother Ansreen Bukhari.
Mr Hussain had recorded “sexually explicit” material, the prosecutor said, and videos and photos of the couple were found on Mr Hussain’s Instagram account.
When Mrs Bukhari tried to end the relationship in January against Mr Hussain’s wishes, he “became increasingly obsessive, professing his love for her”, Mr Thompson said.
After Mrs Bukhari would not return his calls, Mr Thompson said Mr Hussain’s anger “manifested itself in an attempt to blackmail Ansreen Bukhari in order to persuade her to contact him” and threatened to send the sexually explicit material to her husband and son unless she agreed to speak to him.
Mrs Bukhari confided in her daughter about the blackmail attempt, and Mr Thompson told jurors that it set out a possible motive to “silence” Mr Hussain.
Mahek Bukhari and Ansreen Bukhari deny murder.
Mahek Bukhari, known as Maya, had 126,000 followers on TikTok and 43,000 on Instagram before her arrest, regularly posting updates on her handbags, clothes and make-up.
On 4 January she messaged her mother saying: “I’ll soon get him jumped by guys and he won’t know what day it is.”
She later texted her mother: “Leave it to me.”
The women appeared in court alongside Rekan Karwan, 28, of Leicester, and Raees Jamal, 22, of Loughborough, who are both said to have recruited others, including Natasha Akhtar, 22, of Birmingham, who owned one of the cars involved in the pursuit.
Also in the dock are Sanaf Gulammustafa, 22, Ameer Jamal, 27, and Mohammed Patel, 20, all from Leicester.
The three women and five men deny two charges of murder and two alternative charges of manslaughter. The trial continues.
Actor Timothy West has died peacefully in his sleep aged 90, “with his friends and family at the end”.
He was known for many roles in television and the theatre, including popular soaps Coronation Street and EastEnders.
Husband to Prunella Scales – who played Sybil Fawlty in Fawlty Towers – the pair travelled together on UK and overseas canals in the Channel 4 series Great Canal Journeys.
His children Juliet, Samuel and Joseph West said in a statement issued by his agent: “After a long and extraordinary life on and off the stage, our darling father Timothy West died peacefully in his sleep yesterday evening. He was 90 years old.
“Tim was with friends and family at the end. He leaves his wife Prunella Scales, to whom he was married for 61 years, a sister, a daughter, two sons, seven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. All of us will miss him terribly.
“We would like to thank the incredible NHS staff at St George’s Hospital, Tooting and at Avery Wandsworth for their loving care during his last days.”
The couple married in 1963 and had two sons, actor Samuel and Joseph.
West was previously married to actor Jacqueline Boyer from 1956 to 1961, with whom he had a daughter, Juliet.
West with his wife, Prunella Scales. Pic: Geoff Pugh/Shutterstock
West with his wife at a charity dinner in 1998. Pic: PA
In 1984, West was appointed CBE for his services to drama in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List.
He was the winner of an RTS television award for his lead role in Churchill And The Generals, released in 1979, according to imdb.com.
In his career, he played Winston Churchill three times, including in The Last Bastion (1984) and in Hiroshima (1995).
West with his son Samuel in 1999. Pic: PA
West was also nominated for best actor in the 1976 BAFTAs for his part as Edward VII in the historical drama.
Four years later, he was nominated in the same category for a number of roles, including as best actor in Crime And Punishment.
West (right) in BBC drama, Last Tango In Halifax. Pic: PA
After a small part as Eric Babbage in Coronation Street in 2013, West appeared in 2014 for the first time as Stan Carter in EastEnders.
He also held other popular TV roles, such as in BBC comedy-drama Last Tango In Halifax.
In the long-running BBC comedy, Not Going Out, he played Geoffrey, the father of Lucy Adams, played by Sally Bretton.
He was the ruthless self-made businessman Bradley Hardacre in comedy-drama Brass, playing the role from 1982 to 1984 before returning for a third series in 1990.
West as King Lear during a 2003 English Touring Theatre production of William Shakespeare’s tragedy. Pic: PA
In 2019, the Bradford-born actor played Private Godfrey in Dad’s Army: The Lost Episodes, a recreation of three missing episodes of the BBC comedy.
His film roles included Commissioner Berthier in The Day Of The Jackal (1973), King Francis in From Ever After: A Cinderella Story (1998), and Nazi physician and war criminal Karl Gebhardt in Hitler: The Last Ten Days (1973).
He was also a regular performer of Shakespeare, playing Lear in 2002 and 2016.
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The actor performed at the Piccadilly Theatre, with the Royal Shakespeare Company, the National Theatre, and the West End, portraying many classic roles, including Shylock, Falstaff, and Macbeth.
Prior to acting, West attended the John Lyon School and Bristol Grammar School.
He worked as an office furniture salesman and a recording technician before becoming an assistant stage manager at Wimbledon Theatre in 1956.
UK
Man jailed for more than three years for loading illegal streaming services on to Amazon Fire Sticks
A 29-year-old man has been jailed for more than three years for loading illicit TV streaming services onto Amazon Fire Sticks.
Jonathan Edge, from Liverpool, pleaded guilty to three offences under the Fraud Act.
He was sentenced to three years and four months in prison, which included a separate concurrent sentence of two years and three months for accessing and viewing the content he was supplying.
Edge ran a service uploading illegal services to Fire Stick devices in return for cash-in-hand payments at his home, Liverpool Crown Court heard.
He used Facebook advertising and word-of-mouth recommendations to run his operation.
He ignored multiple warnings about the illegal activity, which were referenced by the judge and treated as an aggravating factor in sentencing.
The prosecution was undertaken by the Premier League and supported by several other organisations, including FACT (Federation Against Copyright Theft) and Merseyside Police.
Kevin Plumb, Premier League general counsel, said: “The significant sentence handed down to the individual involved once again serves to highlight the severity of his actions.
“We will continue to pursue legal action against those supplying unauthorised access to Premier League football, regardless of the scale or mode of operation. Ignoring warnings to stop only served to make the consequences worse for the individual.”
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Detective Sergeant Steve Frame from Merseyside Police said: “Merseyside Police is committed to working in collaboration to investigate intellectual property theft and we welcome today’s sentence handed to Edge.
“Many people see no harm in illegally streaming TV services but they are wrong, and this outcome should serve as a further warning how seriously such copyright theft continues to be taken.”
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