Mohammed Abdi murder: Fourth man found guilty

Mohammed Ahmed is also known as Jamal Saeed

A fourth man has been found guilty for his part in the shooting of a man in an Edinburgh suburb.

Mohammed Ahmed, 29, also known as Jamal Saeed, was found guilty of murdering Mohammed Abdi in the Duddingston area in May 2013.

Last year Mohamud Mohamud, Cadil Huseen and Hussein Ali all received life sentences and were ordered to serve a minimum of 25 years for the murder.

Ahmed was found guilty at the High Court in Glasgow.

Judge John Morris QC deferred sentence on Ahmed, a first offender, until next month for background reports.

Ahmed fled the scene and flew to Somalia, where he was born, just days after the street shooting.

However, unknown to him he left behind at the murder scene his wallet. A bank card belonging to him was also found in the roof lining of the Volkswagen Sharan driven by the killers.

Mr Abdi was gunned down in what is understood to have been a feud over drugs and he died from a gunshot wound to the chest.

Iain McSporran, prosecuting, said: "The Crown's position is that there appears to have been an organised crime group consisting largely of Somalian males with London connections, operating in Glasgow and Edinburgh. "

They split into two rival factions shortly before the murder. Two days before the fatal shooting a message was sent saying: "The guns are coming out."

Mr Abdi died after an armed car chase in Edinburgh

On May 26, 2013 the Sharan with the killers on board chased the Ford Focus containing Mr Abdi and his associates through the streets of Edinburgh.

It ended with the Sharan crashed into fencing beside a tennis court. After Mr Abdi got out the Focus and was striking the rear of the Sharan with a baseball bat, he was shot with a sub-machine pistol from within the car.

The court heard that five shots were discharged from the machine gun before it jammed. Three of them hit Abdi - the fatal shot was through the chest.

The Crown's position is that it is not possible to say who fired the fatal shot. Ahmed was convicted of murder on an art and part basis.

Det Supt Kenny Graham, of Police Scotland, said: "The murder of Mohammed Abdi was a brutal killing and those involved showed absolutely no regard for human life or the safety of others in the area.

"Such incidents are thankfully extremely rare in Scotland and it is completely incomprehensible why these men chose a quiet suburban area of the capital to carry out such a barbaric act.

"Our investigation has been extensive and involved specialised officers working with authorities from other countries as well as across the UK."

In April and May last year, seven of the nine men accused of the murder of Mr Abdi appeared at the High Court in Glasgow.

During the trial Mohamud, 30, Huseen, 23, and Ali, 26, changed their pleas to guilty and the remaining accused had their pleas of not guilty accepted.