Four jailed over Nottingham car ambush knife killing

Left to right: Mohamud Alasow, Junaid Farrukh, Mohammed Qasim and Ahmed Qamran all pleaded guilty to manslaughter

Four men have been jailed for killing a 21-year-old stabbed in a car ambush on a Nottingham street.

Aqib Mazhar, of Russell Road, was stabbed in the chest on the street where he lived on 1 June and died from a single stab wound in hospital.

His car was blocked in by three vehicles, trapping him as he came under attack, police said.

The four men, aged between 18 and 24, from Nottingham and Derby, all pleaded guilty to manslaughter.

Aqib Mazhar was fatally stabbed in the chest on the street where he lived on the evening of 1 June

Over weeks animosity grew between Mr Mazhar and a group of men and it culminated that evening, the court heard.

At the sentencing at Nottingham Crown Court on Monday, Judge Stuart Rafferty told the offenders Mr Mazhar's death was "wholly needless".

Mohamud Alasow, 18, of Hamilton Road, Nottingham, was jailed for 10 years and six months.

Junaid Farrukh, 21, of Heathermead Close, Oakwood, Derby; and Mohammed Qasim, 24, of Staindale Drive, Aspley; were both sentenced to nine years and 11 months in prison.

Qamran Ahmed, 21, also of Staindale Drive, received a seven-year sentence.

Three cars blocked Mr Mazhar's car on Russell Road in the Forest Fields area of Nottingham

The men were initially on trial for murder, but the charge was changed to manslaughter during the two-week trial last week.

Mobile phone footage thought to show one of the defendants as Mr Mazhar killer was reviewed and revealed a fifth person, who is on the run, carried out the fatal stabbing.

Judge Rafferty said: "This is not a murder case, none of you stabbed Aqib... the murderer is still at large.

"The tragedy of this case is that all four of you know perfectly well who stabbed Aqib, but you have done nothing to speak out to put Aqib's family at their ease."

Det Ch Insp Rob Severn, of Nottinghamshire Police, said the investigation and the hunt for the person who fatally stabbed Mr Mazhar was continuing.