Three brothers jailed for serious assaults.
The trio attacked their victims with weapons including a metal pole, bolt croppers, baseball bats and a meat cleaver.
Last updated 30th Sep 2023
A family of landlords who seriously assaulted vulnerable people who they did not want in their flats have been jailed for more than 30 years.
Three brothers were involved in a series of serious attacks at properties their father’s company owned across Bedford.
Mohammed Said, Mohammed Shakeel and Mohammed Shamrez attacked their victims with weapons including a metal pole, bolt croppers, baseball bats and a meat cleaver.
They filmed their sick attacks on mobile phones, with this video evidence later used to convict them. Their victims suffered injuries including a broken leg and fractured ribs.
Detective Constable Matthew Jarman, who led the investigation, said:
“These three individuals have operated a brutal enforcement business of violence and intimidation targeting anyone they considered ‘undesirable’ in their properties.
“All of their victims were vulnerable in some way. These men preyed on vulnerable victims as part of their enforcement scheme. “
The court heard how in May 2020, Mohammed Shamrez and a family member forced their way into a flat in Bromham Road, Bedford.
They punched and kicked a visitor at one of the flats and attacked him with a metal pole. The victim was left with a broken leg in two places.
After the attack, Shamrez told the victim: “Do you know who I am? This is my building”.
Police investigating the attack arrested another brother, Mohammed Shakeel, the same day. On his phone, they found video footage of seven further assaults, dating back to February 2019.
It’s thought some of the harrowing footage includes the men attacking a victim with bolt croppers, as well as punching and kicking another victim to the point he was left with a fractured rib.
In another case, a man who had had an argument with one of the defendant’s wives over a parking space was attacked with a baseball bat the next day, while one of the brothers was also armed with a meat cleaver.
In one case, one of the victims had to have a leg amputated following medical complications.
Judge Blake sentencing the trio said that they were:
“Motivated by desire to assert power and control over those deemed less important.”
Mohammed Shamrez, 38, of Bromham Road, Bedford, pleaded guilty to one count of causing grievous bodily harm (GBH) with intent, two counts of attempted GBH and two counts of actual bodily harm (ABH). He was sentenced to 14 years and six months.
Mohammed Shakeel, 26, of Bromham Road, Bedford, pleaded guilty to two counts of attempted GBH. He was jailed for six years.
Mohammed Said, 24, of Bromham Road, Bedford, pleaded guilty to two counts of attempted GBH, one count of causing GBH with intent and one count of ABH. He was jailed for 10 years and nine months.