Police in Wales offer £10,000 reward in hunt for fugitive businessman who ordered ‘bungled hit’

LONDON: Police in Wales are offering a £10,000 ($12,500) reward for information leading to the capture of a fugitive businessman who ordered a “bungled hit” that resulted in the death of an innocent 17-year-old.

A-Level pupil Aamir Siddiqi was stabbed to death at his home in Roath, Cardiff, on April 11, 2010, when he went to greet the arrival of who he thought was his Qur’an teacher. Instead, he was attacked by hitmen Ben Hope, 40, and Jason Richards, 39, in a case of mistaken identity.

The pair, who are serving 40-year prison sentences, were allegedly working for Mohammed Ali Ege, 42, who had ordered a hit on a business rival. Ege fled Wales but was arrested in India in 2013 and held in custody pending extradition.

However, he managed to escape on the way to a court hearing in 2017. He told police he needed to use the toilet at a train station and climbed out of a window. He remains at large.

Tuesday was the 13th anniversary of Siddiqi’s murder and South Wales Police marked the occasion by renewing their appeal for help to find Ege and offering the reward.

“Although two men have been convicted of his murder, and continue to serve life sentences in prison, we remain as committed as ever to tracing and arresting Ege,” police said.

Siddiqi’s parents, Iqbal Ahmad and Parveen, said previously: “He was our loving, funny, intelligent and generous child, who was about to embark on the next phase of his life at university.

“His friends have become wonderful adults, they have traveled, have jobs and some are married. Our son was deprived of these things and we mourn his loss every day.”

At the time Hope and Richards were convicted, the judge described them as “staggeringly incompetent.”