A Huddersfield barrister has been jailed for three years and three months after being convicted of plotting a revenge attack with a criminal client involved in a violent drugs gang feud.
A barrister from Huddersfield has been jailed after being convicted of plotting a revenge attack with a client involved in a violent drugs gang feud in Kirklees.
Samreen Akhtar, 38, of Sufton Street, Huddersfield, was sentenced to three years and three months in prison at Manchester Crown Court.
West Yorkshire Police said Akhtar was working as a barrister when the offence took place on 15 September 2021.
Her client, Tabish Ali, had been shot and injured in Blacker Road, Huddersfield, the previous day.
Police said Akhtar was recorded during a telephone call with Ali putting forward a plan to find the person responsible for the shooting so that they could be seriously injured.
Ali was later convicted of the murder of Jamal Nedd, who was shot outside his home in Ripon Avenue, Huddersfield, in December 2020. He was given a life sentence alongside two other men in July 2022.
Their trial heard that the murder formed part of an escalating turf war between drug-dealing gangs, involving a series of violent and firearms incidents.
Akhtar was arrested in February 2022 and later charged with encouraging or assisting the commission of an indictable offence, namely causing grievous bodily harm with intent.
She denied the offence but was convicted by a majority jury following a five-day trial in June this year.
Detective Inspector Paul Hutchinson said Akhtar had been fully aware of her professional and legal responsibilities but had chosen to become involved in a revenge plot with a dangerous criminal.
He said West Yorkshire Police would continue to target people involved in serious and organised crime through its Programme Precision initiative, regardless of their occupation or role.
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