TikTok influencer Mahek Bukhari and her mother jailed for life for double murder after sex tape threat
TikTok influencer Mahek Bukhari and her mother have both been jailed for life for double murder following a sex tape threat.
Bukhari sobbed in the dock last month as she was found guilty of murdering her mother’s lover and his friend in a high-speed car chase.
Her mother Ansreen Bukhari, 46, was also found guilty of the murders following a trial at Leicester Crown Court.
Mahek Bukhari and her mother. Pic: TikTok
Saqib Hussain and Mohammed Hashim Ijazuddin, both 21, died when their Skoda “virtually split in two” and caught fire after leaving the A46 dual carriageway near Leicester before hitting a tree in the early hours of 11 February 2022.
Mr Hussain had threatened to reveal the affair he and Ansreen Bukhari had been having.
Bukhari, 24, and her mother, from Stoke-on-Trent, denied two counts of murder but were convicted by jurors after more than 28 hours of deliberations.
On Friday, Mahek Bukhari was sentenced to life with a minimum of 31 years and eight months in prison, while Ansreen Bukhari also received a life sentence, and was jailed for a minimum of 26 years and nine months.
Rekan Karwan, 29, who brought in Raees Jamal, 23, to help carry out the murders after Bukhari approached him, were also jailed for life with a minimum of 26 years and 10 months and 31 years respectively for two counts of murder.
Three others, who were found not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter, were also sentenced.
Natasha Akhtar, 23, was jailed for 11 years and eight months, while Ameer Jamal, 28, and Sanaf Gulamustafa, 23, were jailed for 14 years and eight months and 14 years and nine months respectively for two counts of manslaughter.
All were present in the two vehicles, an Audi TT and a Seat Leon, used in the fatal car chase.
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Mahek Bukhari (R) and her mother Ansreen Bukhari at Leicester Crown Court. File pic
During sentencing, Judge Timothy Spencer KC said TikTok and Instagram were “at the heart” of the case, as Bukhari dropped out of university to pursue her career as an influencer. He argued if she had not done so, she would be looking forward to the rest of her life.
The judge added Ansreen had made the “calamitous” decision of putting the response to the sex tape threat against her in her daughter’s hands.
Mr Hussain and Mr Ijazuddin were “lured” into meeting with the Bukharis in a Tesco car park on the pretence of paying him back the £3,000 he said he had spent on taking his lover out on dates.
The cars ended up in a chase, with analysis by forensic collision investigators showing the Audi had reached speeds of up to 100mph.
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Just before he died, front-seat passenger Mr Hussain made a 999 call to police saying Mr Ijazuddin’s silver Skoda Fabia was being “blocked in” and rammed by attackers wearing balaclavas who had been following them in two cars.
In a recording of the call played to Leicester Crown Court during the trial, 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.
The court heard they were deliberately rammed off the road in an “ambush”.
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How the murders unfolded
‘A callous and cold-blooded attack’
Leicestershire Police’s senior investigating officer for the case, Detective Inspector Mark Parish, said: “This was a callous and cold-blooded attack which ultimately cost two men their lives.
“After setting Mr Hussain and Mr Ijazuddin up, chasing them at high speed and then ultimately ramming their car off the road, none of the defendants made any attempt to help the victims or to call for help.
“Instead they drove on and then even drove back past the collision site. Still no one attempted to offer any help.
“As the defendants found guilty were arrested, charged and stood trial before a court, lies were continually told in order to try and cover their tracks.
“Their only concern during the whole incident and investigation has been for themselves.”
More human remains have been found in two locations as part of an investigation that started when a man’s torso was discovered in Salford.
Police believe the torso belongs to a man in his 60s and have informed his family about his death, but have not yet identified him publicly.
In a news conference today, officers revealed the victim is believed to have known two men who are currently in custody. They are believed to have lived together.
More human remains have been found at Linnyshaw Colliery Wood in Salford
Detective Superintendent Lewis Hughes said they were looking at four crime scenes in Salford and the Greater Manchester area.
The human remains discovered over the last two days were found at Salford’s Blackleach Reservoir and Linnyshaw Colliery Wood.
Officers had already identified the two scenes before the remains were found and were “on route to the Colliery Wood” when a member of the public called to say they had found a package, said Det Supt Hughes.
Police officers found the other remains at the reservoir today while searching the area.
“We are very confident it is the same victim,” Det Supt Hughes added.
The victim is believed to have died in late March.
Police are searching a warehouse in Bury where “items were stored after this incident without the knowledge of occupants of that warehouse,” said Det Supt Hughes.
They’re also searching a house in Winton where the victim “was believed to have lived with the two men in custody”.
The first remains – consisting of the bottom of the back, buttocks and thigh – were found in clear plastic by a passer-by at Kersal Dale Wetlands in Salford, Greater Manchester, on 4 April.
Forensic officers at Kersal Dale, near Salford, Greater Manchester. Pic: PA
Two men, aged 42 and 68, from Salford, who are believed to be known to each other, were arrested on suspicion of murder on 25 April, GMP said, after officers trawled through hundreds of hours of CCTV footage.
The 42-year-old was arrested after officers stormed a bus in Eccles Old Road around midday, the force said.
The other man was later arrested at an address in Worsley Road.
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A 20-year-old man previously arrested on suspicion of murder was later released on bail pending further inquiries.
“It is too soon to rule out [looking for other suspects] but we’re confident at this time that we have the right two suspects in custody,” said Det Supt Hughes.
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Detectives are still appealing the public for any information related to the crime and want to hear from witnesses, including dog walkers, who were in the area between 6am and 6pm on the day a passer-by made the original grim discovery.
More than 100 officers searched the Kersal Dale area for 12 days looking for evidence, working with an underwater search team and dogs before lifting the crime scene on 17 April.
The number of migrants that have crossed the Channel in small boats during the first four months of the year is at its highest ever level.
Some 7,167 people have arrived on UK shores after travelling by small boat from the continent between 1 January to 27 April, with 902 entering just this past week
This compares to 5,745 for the same period last year. The previous record was 6,691 in 2022.
The figures come after Rishi Sunak has staked much of his political future on getting the number of migrant boat crossings down.
On Sky’s Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips programme he said migrants travelling to Ireland after arriving in the UK on small boats was a sign the Rwanda scheme was already working as a deterrent.
“People are worried about coming here and that demonstrates exactly what I’m saying,” he told Sky News.
“If people come to our country illegally, but know that they won’t be able to stay there, they are much less likely to come, and that’s why the Rwanda scheme is so important.”
However, the news that migrants are crossing from Northern Ireland into the Republic has sparked an outcry in the country, and prompted the government in Dublin to announce they are planning emergency legislation to send asylum seekers back to Britain.
More than 80% of recent arrivals in the republic came via the land border with Northern Ireland, Irish justice minister Helen McEntee told a parliamentary committee last week.
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Stopping the boats was one of the government’s five priorities set out by the prime minister after he took office in 2023.
The latest figures have been seized upon by Labour, with shadow immigration minister Stephen Kinnock saying: “This is the blunt reality behind all of Rishi Sunak’s empty boasts: more people have arrived by small boats so far this year than ever before and more people are having to be rescued.
“What will it take for Rishi Sunak to wake up and realise that his plan is not working?
“We desperately need a Labour government in place to get a grip of this issue.
“Our plan would strengthen Britain’s border security, crush the smuggling gangs, clear the asylum backlog, end hotel use, and set up a new returns and enforcement unit so those with no right to be in the UK are swiftly returned.”
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Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said other countries will ‘follow where the UK has led’ with the scheme.
Earlier this week, the prime minister said the government would “begin the process of removing those identified for the first flight” to Rwanda.
Mr Sunak said that they had increased detention spaces to 2,200 and had 200 caseworkers “ready and waiting” to process asylum claims.
He added that 25 courtrooms and 150 judges had been provided to deal with any legal cases quickly.
UK
Ireland pledging emergency legislation to send asylum seekers back to UK in wake of Rwanda bill being passed
Ireland is pledging emergency legislation enabling it to send asylum seekers back to the UK.
More than 80% of recent arrivals in the republic came via the land border with Northern Ireland, Irish justice minister Helen McEntee told a parliamentary committee last week.
Rishi Sunak told Sky News it showed the UK’s Rwanda scheme was already working as a deterrent after it finally became law last week.
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Ireland plans to return migrants to UK
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Ireland’s deputy prime minister has said the threat of deportation to Rwanda is causing migrants to head for Ireland instead of the UK.
Micheal Martin said the policy was already affecting Ireland because people are “fearful” of staying in the UK.
The former taoiseach told The Daily Telegraph: “Maybe that’s the impact it was designed to have.”
Protesters in Dublin. Pic: PA
Simon Harris, Ireland’s latest leader, has asked Ms McEntee to “bring proposals to cabinet to amend existing law regarding the designation of safe ‘third countries’ and allowing the return of inadmissible international protection applicants to the UK”, a spokesman said.
Ms McEntee said she will be meeting UK Home Secretary James Cleverly in London on Monday.
“There are many reasons why we have seen an increase in migration towards Ireland,” she told RTE.
“My focus as minister for justice is making sure that we have an effective immigration structure and system.
“That’s why I’m introducing fast processing, that’s why I’ll have emergency legislation at cabinet this week to make sure that we can effectively return people to the UK, and that’s why I’ll be meeting with the home secretary to raise these issues on Monday.”
People are now “worried” about coming to the UK, Rishi Sunak has said.
He told Sky News: “If people come to our country illegally, but know that they won’t be able to stay here, they are much less likely to come, and that’s why the Rwanda scheme is so important.”
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Are migrants fleeing from UK to Ireland?
Mr Sunak said the comments from Irish politicians show that “illegal migration is a global challenge”.
“[That] is why you’re seeing multiple countries talk about doing third country partnerships, looking at novel ways to solve this problem, and I believe [they] will follow where the UK has led,” he said.
Shadow minister Wes Streeting said it was unlikely a Labour government would bring people back from Rwanda if some are sent there.
“Once people are settled in Rwanda, they’re settled in Rwanda,” he told Sky News, adding it was doubtful that Labour would “unpick that situation”.
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Regarding illegal migration in general, he said it required “putting the money that’s gone to Rwanda into the National Crime Agency so we can have proper cross-border policing to tackle the criminal gangs, speeding up the processing of decision-making, making sure we’ve got serious returns agreements with other countries”.
He added: “Those are solutions that can work.”
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