‘The hitman always rings twice’: Amateur assassin posed as Amazon delivery driver

An “amateurish” would-be hitman who posed as an Amazon worker was thwarted by his intended victim and his dog, a court heard.

Vicente Forde, 32, wore a high-vis jacket and carried an empty parcel as he confronted Rachid Ben-Mhamedi while armed with a loaded shotgun at his home in East Dulwich, South London.

Mr Ben-Mhamedi was inside the property with his seven-year-old daughter when Forde knocked on his door just before 10am on July 13 last year.

After grappling with the gunman on his doorstep, Mr Ben-Mhamedi managed to prise the weapon from Forde’s hands before he threw it under a parked car. Footage of the incident was captured on a doorbell camera.

Aided by his dogs and builders working nearby, Mr Ben-Mhamedi helped restrain Forde before police arrived. The firearm was seized and found to be viable and loaded with two live cartridges.

Subsequent investigations revealed Forde had carried out reconnaissance in the area the week before.

Crack cocaine addict Forde later claimed that he was forced to carry out the attack as a way to settle his debts to his dealers.

Matthew Bagnall, his defence lawyer, told the court: “The defendant’s carrying out his instructions was amateurish at best. He is not a hardened hitman or anything of the sort.”

Forde was this week jailed for six years and nine months after admitting gun offences at Croydon Crown Court.

He pleaded guilty to three firearm offences, including possession with intent to cause fear or violence, at an earlier hearing at Croydon Crown Court.

Three other alleged offences, including attempted murder and possession of a firearm to endanger life, were left to lie on file. The victim did not wish to proceed with a trial. The circumstances around the incident remain under investigation