Man extradited from Pakistan to be charged with eight counts of murder

Thursday, 4 October 2018 07:00

A man is to be charged with eight counts of murder in connection with a house fire in Birkby, Huddersfield in 2002, following his extradition from Pakistan.

Shahid Mohammed, aged 36, formerly of Huddersfield, will be formally charged with the murders of five children and three adults, at Leeds Magistrates Court on Thursday 4 October.

He has been extradited back to the United Kingdom by officers from West Yorkshire Police’s Homicide and Major Enquiry Team, with the support of the National Crime Agency (NCA), the British High Commission in Islamabad, the Crown Prosecution Service and local authorities in Pakistan.

He has been held in prison in Pakistan since he was located and arrested in Rawalpindi on 22 January 2015 following a joint operation between West Yorkshire Police, the NCA and Pakistani authorities and has been flown from Islamabad International Airport back to the UK, where he is detained for court.

Detective Superintendent Nick Wallen of the Homicide and Major Enquiry Team, said: “This is a significant development in our investigation.

“I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all agencies here in the UK and in Pakistan who have worked tirelessly and supported West Yorkshire Police to ensure that this process has run smoothly to extradite him.

“At the centre of this investigation is the Chisthi family, who lost eight members of their family during the fatal house fire and have shown such dignity since the tragedy occurred in 2002.”

This is just the second extradition from Pakistan in more than 10 years. Mohammed Zubair was extradited from Pakistan in May 2016 and was found guilty of murder at Bradford Crown Court in February 2017.

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