Four men guilty of killing taxi passenger

Four men have been found guilty of killing a taxi passenger who was stabbed after being "forcibly stopped" in east London.

Muhammad Saqib Khan, 23, from Enfield, and Muhammad Samiyul Miah, 18, from Manor Park, were both convicted of the murder of 26-year-old Anselam Senaj following a trial at the Old Bailey.

Zain Ali, 21, and Ibrahim Naim, 18, both from East Ham, were acquitted of murder but found guilty of manslaughter.

The trial heard that Mr Senaj was travelling in the back seat of a taxi on Victoria Avenue in Newham on 11 November 2023 when the vehicle was stopped by another car containing masked men.

Six people were travelling inside the car, a silver Mitsubishi, and four of them got out, with three of them surrounding the taxi and attacking the victim while he was still in his seat.

The men wore masks, gloves and black outfits while two carried knives that were up to 2ft (61cm) long, the trial heard

One of the attackers stabbed Mr Senaj in the chest and although emergency services were called, he died at the scene.

Prosecutor Alexandra Healy KC said: "It appears from the drugs subsequently found on Mr Senaj and messages received from his phone that he was involved in drug dealing.

"When Mr Senaj saw the Mitsubishi coming towards him he clearly recognised he was in danger and told the taxi driver that the occupants would kill him. Sadly, he was absolutely right in his assessment of their interest."

The prosecution alleged that Khan inflicted the fatal stab wound and that Miah and Ali were the other two men who attacked the taxi.

Khan denied being present at the murder scene, while his co-defendant Naim accepted being the driver of the Mitsubishi car.

Two further defendants, Khalis Malik, 19, from Ilford, and Esahak Yusuf, 20, from East Ham, were cleared of murder.

Sentencing will take place on 14 March.

Listen to the best of BBC Radio London on Sounds and follow BBC London on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected]