Fishermead 'drug turf' shootings: Teenagers' murderers convicted

Mohammed Abdi Farah and Amin Ahmed Ismail were shot in an alleyway

Two men have been convicted of murdering two teenagers who were shot in a "drug turf" row in Milton Keynes.

Mohammed Abdi Farah, 19, and Amin Ahmed Ismail, 18, were killed in an alley on the Fishermead Estate on 26 May 2011.

Fuad Awale, 25, of no fixed address, and Sharmake Abdulkadir, 22, were found guilty. Yahya Harun, 22, was cleared.

The teenagers were shot after Mr Farah gave away Awale's cannabis, jurors at Luton Crown Court heard. The two killers will be sentenced on Friday.

Abdulkadir, of The Fleet, Springfield, Milton Keynes, was also found guilty of possessing of a firearm with intent to commit an indictable offence.

'DNA on pistol'

Awale, Abdulkadir and Mr Harun, of Fishermead Boulevard in Milton Keynes, are all of Somali origin, along with the two victims.

Prosecutor Ben Gumpert said it was likely that the three defendants knew the victims and were part of a group of five, two of whom were not before the court.

He said Abdulkadir and Awale had travelled to the Netherlands to collect a gun, and all three defendants were recorded on CCTV near the location of the shootings.

Abdulkadir's DNA was found on the surface of a Belgian automatic pistol, the jury heard.

'Senseless and indefensible'

Abdulkadir blamed Awale during the trial, saying his co-defendant killed the teenagers - and threatened to kill him if he said anything.

Fuad Awale and Sharmake Abdulkadir travelled to the Netherlands to collect a gun

Speaking after the trial, Det Ch Supt Rob Mason, senior investigating officer at Thames Valley Police, said: "The murders of Mohammed and Amin were both senseless and indefensible.

"They were two young men with their lives ahead of them, but tragically their lives were brought to a premature end in the most brutal of ways.

"This has been a long and complex investigation for which the motive of the killings may never be known."

Baljit Ubhey, Chief Crown Prosecutor for Thames and Chiltern Crown Prosecution Service, said: "This case involved the deliberate shooting of two young men at point-blank range.

"CCTV and DNA evidence were crucial to this case. At the trial the defendants blamed each other for the murders, but the jury found Fuad Awale and Sharmake Abdulkadir guilty of the murders, despite their denials."

Insp Andy O'Hanlon, of the neighbourhood team for the Fishermead Estate, said: "The shootings were an awful and tragic incident for the estate, but the community has proved to be resilient and is now moving forward."