Iron Miah died after being shot in the head in 2019. Pic: Metropolitan Police
Three men have been sentenced to life imprisonment for shooting a man on his doorstep in Whitechapel.
Iron Miah, 40, was shot in the head on his door step in Nelson Street in November, 2019 and died in hospital two days later.
Mohammed Moshaer Ali, Antonio Afflick-McLeod, and Aaron Campbell were convicted and sentenced for the murder at the Old Bailey on February 28.
Aaron Campbell (left), Antonio Afflick-Mc-Leod (top right) and Mohammed Moshaer Ali (bottom right) were all sentenced to life. Pics: Metropolitan Police
Ali, 31, from Dagenham, was sentenced to a minimum of 36 years for the murder, alongside a conviction for perverting the course of justice. Afflick-McLeod, 32, from Ilford, received a minimum term of 34 years for murder, alongside additional sentences for drug offences, possession of a firearm, and pepper spray. Campbell, 32, from Fulham, was sentenced to a minimum of 31 years for murder.
According to evidence from his family, Miah was increasingly anxious in the days before the shooting due to messages received on his phone.
The court heard that on the night of the incident, Miah returned home around 10pm and received a call from Ali. Following this call, he engaged with individuals in a Honda Civic on Nelson Street and sent a message indicating, “Viewing done,” to Ali before proceeding to a nearby shop.
As Miah walked back home, he was confronted by a gunman who fired a fatal shot at him from a parked Volkswagen Polo. The assailants fled the scene in the Polo, which was never recovered, along with the weapon used in the attack. Investigations revealed that Afflick-McLeod and Campbell were the occupants of the Polo.
Despite the group’s use of disposable burner phones for communication, Afflick-McLeod’s purchase of a SIM card the day before the murder, along with intercepted communications, provided damning evidence for the prosecution.
In a separate case, Wiktoria Bujko, a former prison officer at HMP Belmarsh, was also sentenced at the Old Bailey to 4 years and 8 months in prison after being found guilty of perverting the course of justice.
Bujko provided a false account related to the defendants awaiting trial for Miah’s murder, admitting to fabricating a “false confession”, allegedly made by one of the defendants whilst in custody, in which she claimed to have overheard Campbell planning to rob Ali of drugs.
However, investigations revealed that Bujko had been incentivised by Ali, who offered her money, gifts, and promises in exchange for her cooperation in creating the false narrative.
The false account provided by Bujko led to an aborted trial, causing further delays and which police said caused further trauma for Miah’s family, who had already endured a prolonged legal process seeking justice for their loved one.
Bujko’s actions were described by police as a deliberate attempt to obstruct justice and prolong the suffering of the victim’s family.
Detective Chief Inspector David Whellams, who led the investigation, said: “My team worked tirelessly over a long period of time to ensure that Iron’s family could receive the justice they deserve.
“This was a well-planned, deliberate and callous act of violence in a residential area. Nobody deserves to be the victim of such brutality and the three people jailed today will have many years to reflect on that. Our streets are safer now they are behind bars.
“I would like to pay tribute to Iron’s family, who have been extremely supportive of the investigation in the face of a long road to justice while living with the trauma of losing their loved one. My thoughts are with them today.”
