Alex Smith: Drill rappers sentenced to life over street stabbing

Alex Smith was attacked after leaving a restaurant near Euston station

Two drill rappers have been jailed for life for the "needless" killing of a 16-year-old boy in central London.

Tariq Monteiro, 23, and Siyad Mohamud, 24, were part of a group which targeted Alex Smith over a gang-based feud as he left a restaurant near Euston station on 12 August 2019.

The pair fled to Kenya immediately after the incident and were arrested in Nairobi last year.

They both refused to appear for their sentencing hearing at the Old Bailey.

Monteiro, of no fixed address, was ordered to serve a minimum of 24 years in prison, while Mohamud, of Barker Drive, Camden, will serve at least 23 years.

In a statement read to the court, Alex's mother, Beatriz Smith, described her son as her "precious baby boy". She said she could not get the image out of her mind of Alex being "hunted by a pack."

Tariq Monteiro (left) and Siyad Mohamud (right) were sentenced to life in prison

The court heard Alex was having a meal at a Nando's restaurant, but when he left the establishment he was spotted in a "chance encounter" by members of a rival gang.

Prosecutor Fiona Robertson said Monteiro and Mohamud were part of a group of six who were seen driving around in stolen vehicles looking for rivals to attack.

After spotting Alex, the group undertook a "planned and sustained" assault and he was chased on foot before being fatally stabbed in a nearby street.

Monteiro and Mohamud are believed to have been part of the Agar Grove gang, and were said to have been looking for members of the Cumbo gang in a continued episode of "tit-for-tat" violence.

Months earlier, a member of Agar Grove had been injured in a stabbing, which the group believed was enacted by members of the Cumbo gang, the court heard.

Monteiro, who raps under the name Suspect and was 19 at the time, was said to be in possession of a "large machete-styled" weapon and wore a stab vest during the attack.

The court believes he was the one who inflicted the wounds, while Mohamud, who performs under the name Swavey, was there as "back-up", but was deemed equally culpable.

Alex Smith was attacked in Munster Square, Camden

Days after the murder, the pair boarded a flight to Kenya. They were eventually found in the Kilimani district of Kenya's capital, Nairobi, and returned to the UK.

Sentencing the pair, Judge Sarah Munro KC said the killing was another example of a "needless loss of a teenage life".

She added they had set out to kill their victim, then "fled the jurisdiction, escaped justice and celebrated the killing" by posting videos about the stabbing online.

Three other men - who were all teenagers at the time - have previously been sentenced in relation to the killing.

Two other men wanted in connection with the murder fled abroad and remain unaccounted for.

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