Three jailed for rival drug dealer Hartlepool killing

Noza Saffari, Qazim Marku and Dorian Pirija (left to right) were found guilty of manslaughter

Three men who killed a rival drug dealer by shooting him in the head have been jailed.

Hemawand Ali Hussein, 30, was attacked at a house on Charterhouse Street, Hartlepool, on 14 September 2019.

Qazim Marku, 25, and Dorian Pirija, 33, were each jailed for 19 years and Noza Saffari, 39, for 15 years at Teesside Crown Court after being found guilty of manslaughter.

Mr Hussein's family said he had fought ISIS in Kurdistan.

Jurors had heard the group of drug dealers "lured" Mr Hussein, known to his family as Hammo, to the property to "kill him".

He had thought he was going to meet other drug dealers but instead was shot with a sawn-off shotgun soon after he arrived.

Hemawand Ali Hussein had fought ISIS in his native Kurdistan, his family said

The three men were found not guilty of murder, while a fourth man, Anxhelo Xhaferi, 24, was cleared of both murder and manslaughter.

The court heard Saffari of Park Lane, Middlesbrough, is Iranian of Kurdish origin while Pirija, of Trillo Avenue, Bolton and Marku, of Maxwell Road, West Drayton, London, are Albanian.

A spokesman for Mr Hussein's family, said his death had "crushed and devastated our family beyond measure".

The family said: "Hammo was happy, positive and laid back. He was a brilliant father and his children saw him as their hero, a brave man who protected them.

"They knew about his involvement fighting against ISIS and felt so proud of this, as did the family and the rest of the Kurdish community."

The family added that his loss had created "a lifetime of trauma" for them all, adding: "Hammo will never get to grow old with his family and see his sons get married and have children of their own.

"He did not deserve to die, he had the right to live his life."

Det Ch Insp Sarah Robinson of Cleveland Police welcomed the sentences but said four other men "remain wanted in connection with Mr Hussein's death".