Aimee Betro took part in a plot to attack a ‘rival family’
Aimee Betro purchasing a mobile phone prior to the shootings (Image: West Midlands Police / SWNS)
A US woman who landed at Manchester Airport to carry out an assassination attempt in Birmingham has been found guilty of conspiracy to murder.
Aimee Betro flew to the UK before she tried to shoot Sikander Ali at point-blank range outside his home in Yardley, Birmingham, on September 7, 2019.
Jurors at Birmingham Crown Court found the 45-year-old guilty of the charge on Tuesday (August 12), as well as of possessing a self-loading pistol and fraudulently evading the prohibition on importing ammunition.
The jury of six men and six women deliberated for almost 21 hours before returning its verdicts, two of which were by an 11-1 majority.
Betro, who is originally from West Allis in Wisconsin but lived in Armenia until earlier this year, took part in a plot orchestrated by co-conspirators Mohammed Aslam, 56, and his son Mohammed Nabil Nazir, 31, to attack a rival family.
Wearing a black cardigan and with her hair in space buns, she showed no obvious emotion in the dock when the verdicts were read out by the foreman of the jury.
Adjourning sentence until August 21, Judge Simon Drew KC told the court: “I suspect Miss Betro would like to know the outcome of this case and there is nothing worse than sitting waiting.”
Betro’s mugshot. (Image: West Midlands Police)
Prosecution counsel Tom Walkling KC told the trial that she met Nazir, who lived in Derby, on a dating app.
Police say there is no evidence that Betro, who was extradited from Armenia earlier this year, was paid to take part in the plot by either Nazir or his father.
Both men were jailed last year for their part in the bungled assassination plot, following a feud with Mr Ali’s father, Aslat Mahumad.
Mr Walkling said “revenge was the motive” after Nazir and Aslam were injured during disorder at Mr Mahumad’s clothing boutique in Birmingham in July 2018, which led them to conspire to have someone kill him or a member of his family.
Aimee Betro with her luggage
Betro’s three-week trial was told she met Nazir online in late 2018 and then communicated with him via Snapchat before flying into the UK on Christmas Day of the same year.
She told the court she slept with Nazir at an Airbnb in London before returning to the US in January 2019.
During a two-week follow-up visit to Britain in May 2019, Betro told jurors she did not see Nazir at all, instead visiting a friend in Birmingham and staying at “someone’s house in the middle of England to take care of their dog”.
Records show the graphic design and childhood education graduate landed at Manchester Airport on a flight from Atlanta on August 22 2019, two weeks before the attempted killing of Mr Ali.
Betro was caught on CCTV at and near the scene of the failed attempt to shoot Mr Ali, who fled in his car after the gun jammed.
The would-be killer, who had waited in a Mercedes car for around 45 minutes for Mr Ali to arrive, then used a “burner” phone to send Mr Ali’s father messages reading “Where are you hiding?” and “stop playing hide and seek, you are lucky it jammed”.
Security camera footage also captured her return to the scene hours later, when she aimed three shots through two front windows at Mr Ali’s family home.
CCTV footage shown to the jury this afternoon, captures a person firing three shots into the property(Image: West Midlands Police / SWNS)
The damaged Mercedes was later found dumped, leading to the discovery of a black glove with Betro’s DNA on it.
Betro told the court she flew into the UK to celebrate her 40th birthday and knew nothing of any shooting or plot by the time she returned to the US.
She also attempted to explain away evidence against her by claiming the woman caught on CCTV wielding a gun and recorded booking taxis was “another American woman” known to Nazir, who had a similar voice and footwear.
Nazir was jailed for 32 years in November 2024 for offences including conspiracy to murder, while Aslam was sentenced to 10 years.
The men, both of Elms Avenue, Derby, denied any wrongdoing but were convicted after a trial also held at Birmingham Crown Court.
Detective Chief Inspector Alastair Orencas, of West Midlands Police, said: “This is a unique case which has involved a huge amount of work tracing the movements of Betro from her arrival into the UK, her subsequent failed attempt to shoot a man dead, and her departure from the UK.
“It’s by luck that her attempt to kill her target failed, thanks to the jamming of her gun.
“An incredible amount of work went into building up a really detailed picture of her activities while in the UK.
“While she was passing herself off as a tourist, posting pictures and video of landmarks such as the London Eye while she was here, her real purpose was to commit murder.
“We worked really closely with partners such as the Armenian Government, NCA, FBI, Crown Prosecution Service and Derbyshire Constabulary to bring Betro back to the UK to face justice.
“I’d like to thank all of them for helping to achieve justice.”
Commenting on Betro’s conviction, John Sheehan, head of the CPS Extradition unit, said: “This was a complex investigation and extradition process which required bringing together multiple agencies including the National Crime Agency and Armenian courts.
“We worked together to make sure we had a watertight prima facie case in order to lawfully arrest Aimee Betro in a foreign country without her becoming aware and potentially fleeing again.
“I hope these convictions send a clear message that we will actively work with our criminal justice partners domestically and internationally to pursue criminals who attempt to evade justice, and make sure that they are brought to a courtroom to be held accountable for their actions.”
