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.
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.
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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.
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”.
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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.
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, 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.
Women say he raped and sexually assaulted them while they worked at the luxury department store, and accused him of “cherry-picking” women to be brought to his executive suite.
As the legal team said they have heard more than 150 inquiries into Fayed’s alleged crimes, a CPS spokesperson has now said evidence against the Egyptian businessman was provided to prosecutors by the Metropolitan Police twice.
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‘I was terrified’: Alleged victim speaks out
In 2008, Fayed was accused of indecent assault against a 15-year-old girl, which he denied. The CPS did not prosecute the case when it was presented in 2009 over conflicting evidence.
He was then alleged to have raped a woman in 2013, which was reinvestigated by police in 2015 but did not lead to any charges.
While the CPS did review both files, the spokesperson said: “To bring a prosecution the CPS must be confident there is a realistic prospect of conviction – in each instance, our prosecutors looked carefully at the evidence and concluded this wasn’t the case.”
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It marks the first time the service acknowledged the 2015 investigation. The CPS also provided the Met Police with early investigative advice for Fayed in 2018, 2021 and 2023.
Full evidence was never received for these instances and the police took no further action.
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‘Mohamed al Fayed brainwashed me’
It comes after the victims’ legal team confirmed on Saturday they had received “over 150 new inquiries” after a BBC documentary on Fayed aired.
It also follows the former head of royal protection saying he warned the Royal Family about Fayed’s reputation before Princess Diana took Prince Harry and Prince William on holiday with the businessman’s son.
Dai Davies told Sky News people were aware of the Egyptian businessman’s reputation as far back as the 1990s, and said: “This was a man who I would be concerned [about] if a relative of mine was going on holiday with him, let alone the future king and his brother and their mother, Princess Diana.”
He added he was “horrified” before the late princess went on holiday with Fayed and his wife to their residence in St Tropez in July 1997.
“I was aware that he had tried very hard to ingratiate himself with the Royal Family,” he said, “and obviously knowing, as I did, the reputation he was alleged [to have] then, I was concerned, and I took the opportunity to inform the Royal Family.”
Buckingham Palace told Sky News it had no comment on the allegations.
Fulham FC, which was owned by Fayed between 1997 and 2013, also saidit is “deeply troubled” by the dozens of “disturbing” sexual abuse allegations against the businessman.
Harrods said in a statement on Thursday it was “utterly appalled” by the allegations of abuse and apologised to Fayed’s alleged victims.
The department store has also set up a page on its website inviting former employees to come forward if they have allegations.
Anthony Joshua missed out on the chance to become a three-time heavyweight world champion after he was stopped by British rival Daniel Dubois in the fifth round.
Dubois, 27, knocked down Joshua towards the end of the opening round with an overhand right to the 34-year-old’s chin.
The IBF heavyweight champion then dropped Joshua at the end of round three and twice in the fourth.
A right hook ended the fight with a knockout for Dubois’ first defence of the title.
The fighters went toe to toe at London’s Wembley Stadium in front of a record 96,000 fans.
‘We came up short’
Minutes after retaining the IBF championship, Dubois shouted to the crowd “are you not entertained?” before saying: “I’m a gladiator, you know?
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“I’m just a warrior to the bitter end. I’m just ready to go. I want to go to the top level of this game and reach my potential. God bless you all.”
Joshua said the loss would not stop him from rebuilding despite admitting “we came up short”.
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“You know I’m ready to kick off in the ring, but I’m going to keep my cool, keep very professional, and give respect to my opponent,” he said.
“I’m always saying to myself I’m a fighter for life… We keep rolling the dice. I had a sharp opponent, a fast opponent and a lot of mistakes from my end, but that’s the game.”
Dubois’ victory has sent a message to the whole heavyweight division
Daniel Dubois will feel like he has fulfilled his destiny here at Wembley. His father has trained him to be a champion boxer since he was tiny.
He held the IBF belt, but he has gone in there tonight and defended it in spectacular fashion – he is now in every conversation going forward.
What now for AJ? Can he face rebuilding? And will he even want to?
The Wembley ring walk is notoriously long, and Dubois looked nervous – but so did Joshua, who has done this many times before in front of a full house.
Perhaps he was thinking of what was at stake – the chance to be a three-time heavyweight champion of the world.
But 27-year-old Dubois holds the belt and was keen to prove he was a worthy champion quickly.
Many wondered if Dubois would freeze on the biggest stage: Question asked and answered emphatically.
It was a crushing defeat for Joshua – most were not expecting such a one-sided victory.
Dubois will now most likely take on the winner of Fury v Usyk 2 for all the belts. But the manner of his victory has sent a message to the whole heavyweight division.
Hearn: AJ will want rematch
Promoter Eddie Hearn then said “it was the first round” where Joshua lost, “after that he was fighting on heart and desire”.
Hearn added: “When you are in there with a massive puncher this is what can happen. He never stopped trying to get up, even when he couldn’t get up.
“Daniel deserves credit, he’s a real world champion. Congratulations to him… I’m sure [Joshua will] exercise that rematch clause, it’s a given, it’s a dangerous fight because he’s growing in confidence all the time but he’ll believe he can beat him.”
British champion Dubois, who before tonight had never fought at Wembley, was elevated to the IBF title holder after Oleksandr Usyk relinquished the belt.
Joshua outweighed Dubois by four pounds, despite a career-heaviest weight for his rival, ahead of the fight.
Among those watching was Tyson Fury, the former WBC heavyweight champion, who took a ringside seat.
Fury is set to fight Usyk for the other three titles in a rematch on 21 December.
Ahead of the fight, Liam Gallagher played some of Oasis’ biggest hits to the sold-out crowd.
The 52-year-old frontman walked on to a massive cheer and said “yes Wembley vibes in the air,” before launching into Rock ‘N’ Roll Star, Supersonic and Cigarettes & Alcohol.
He and Noel Gallagher will play Wembley for their first of seven reunion shows at the stadium on 25 July – 307 days away.
Other famous faces ringside were Irish MMA fighter Conor McGregor, former boxer Ricky Hatton, Spice Girl Emma Bunton and Love Island presenter Maya Jama.
The former head of royal protection says he warned the Royal Family about Mohamed al Fayed’s reputation before Princess Diana took her sons on holiday with him.
The women say he raped and sexually assaulted them while they worked at the luxury department store, prowling the shop floor and “cherry-picking” women to be brought to his executive suite.
Now, Mr Davies says people were aware of the Egyptian businessman’s reputation as far back as the 1990s, and that he raised concerns about him to the Royal Family.
“This was a man who I would be concerned [about] if a relative of mine was going on holiday with him, let alone the future king and his brother and their mother, Princess Diana,” Dai Davies told Sky News.
In July 1997, a month before she died, Princess Diana went on holiday with Fayed and his wife to their residence in St Tropez.
She took the two young princes with her – a holiday Prince Harry described as “heaven” in his 2023 memoir Spare.
“I was horrified because I was aware of some of the allegations even then that were going around,” said Mr Davies.
“I was aware that he had tried very hard to ingratiate himself with the Royal Family and obviously knowing, as I did, the reputation he was alleged [to have] then, I was concerned, and I took the opportunity to inform the Royal Family.”
Mr Davies says he was told: “Her Majesty is aware.”
“The rest is history,” he said.
Buckingham Palace told Sky News it had no comment on the allegations.
Fulham ‘deeply disturbed’ by allegations
Fulham FC, a football club that was owned by Fayed between 1997 and 2013, has saidit is “deeply troubled” by the dozens of “disturbing” sexual abuse allegations against the businessman.
The Premier League club also said it is “in the process of establishing whether anyone at the club is or has been affected” by this alleged behaviour.
However, Gaute Haugenes, who managed the club’s women’s team between 2001 and 2003, told the BBC extra precautions were taken to protect female players from Fayed.
“We were aware he liked young, blonde girls. So we just made sure that situations couldn’t occur. We protected the players.”
The legal team involved in a civil claim against Harrods for allegedly failing to provide a safe system of work for its employees said they aimed to seek justice for the victims of a “vast web of abuse”.