Yahoo News Police bust gun sale to London man masterminded by gang murderer from jail cell
This is the moment armed police foiled gun dealers who were about to sell a handgun to a London man in exchange for stolen cars. Marksmen from West Midlands Police swooped on the men from Birmingham as they waited to close the deal in a Ford Fiesta in Selly Oak on August 9, 2023.
In the back of the car was a blank firing gun converted to fire live bullets along with 10 rounds of ammunition.
Also in the Fiesta were Dillon Cordova, 18, Furrukh Khan, 25, Ishmail Kaseba, 24, and a boy who is now 17. Drew Neale, 21, from London, was on a nearby road waiting for the deal to take place when he was arrested. Police found convicted murderer Teeko Le, 21, masterminded the deal from prison using a smuggled mobile phone.
Le, then aged 17 and from Addlestone in Surrey, was given life in prison after being found guilty of murdering Naasir Francis, 22, during a 'shoot out' between rival gangs in Birmingham in August 2020. Le and his accomplice, Darnell Donovan-Harris, who was jailed for 18 years for manslaughter, cornered Donovan-Harris, who was unarmed, in an attack described as 'vicious' by the judge.
At the sentencing, Mr Justice Saini told Le: "The PSR makes clear that you show no remorse. You continue to deny the offences and have given no indication of a desire to abandon violence. The YOS report makes very concerning reading." The judge also referenced a string of previous convictions for weapons offences and sharpened toothbrushes that Le brought to court hidden in his clothing.
At Birmingham Crown Court on Friday, November 1:
Le, of no fixed address, was jailed for six years after being found guilty of conspiracy to sell the gun and ammunition. It will start at the end of the minimum 20-year term that he is serving for murder.
Kaseba, of no fixed address, was jailed for eight years and six months after being found guilty of the same offences.
Khan, of Rocky Lane, Birmingham, was jailed for seven years and seven months for the same offences, and also for possession of a shotgun which was found at his home.
Neale, of no fixed address, was jailed for six years and eight months for being involved in the sale of the gun and ammunition, and also handling stolen goods.
The 17-year-old was committed to a young offenders institution for three years for firearms and ammunition sale offences.
Det Insp Amar Patel, from the Regional Organised Crime Unit for the West Midlands, said: “Had we not intervened when we did, this gun would have been handed over and been used in further criminality – to threaten or harm others. The gun had DNA of Khan and Cordova on it, along with that of the 17-year-old."
Dillon Cordova was convicted at trial earlier this year but failed to appear for sentencing and is now on the run.
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