Edinburgh man guilty of double killing during raid on lucrative cannabis farm

An Edinburgh man, an accountant and his father have been found guilty of mistakenly killing their own relative with a crossbow - and murdering a cannabis farm raider seconds later.

Murdered: Khuzaimah Douglas

Omar Ramzan, his father Saghawat Ramzan and family friend Mohammed Sageer, from Marchmont, were all unanimously found guilty of murdering kickboxer Khuzaimah Douglas.

A three-week trial at Wolverhampton Crown Court was shown CCTV footage of the moment Saghawat Ramzan shot his brother Waseem Ramzan in the stomach with the "horrific" crossbow during a four-on-one punishment beating intended to kill or maim Mr Douglas.

A second bolt travelling at 270ft-per-second was fired at Mr Douglas less than a minute later, causing fatal internal injuries.

Killed by a crossbow bolt: Waseem Ramzan

Jurors also convicted Saghawat Ramzan of murdering his brother, who was mistakenly hit by a bolt aimed at 19-year-old Mr Douglas.

Omar Ramzan and Edinburgh-born Sageer were cleared of murder but convicted of manslaughter in relation to Waseem Ramzan's death.

Saghawat Ramzan, 47, Lancaster University graduate Omar Ramzan, 24, and 33-year-old Edinburgh-born Sageer all claimed to have been acting in self-defence when the victims were killed.

Mr Douglas, 19, was shot while being held on the ground and died at the scene outside the Ramzans' home in Pensnett Road, Brierley Hill, Dudley, in the early hours of February 20 last year.

Waseem Ramzan, 36, died in hospital after the bolt that struck him was removed and hidden near the scene.

The defendants were charged with murder after police recovered CCTV footage from cameras set up to protect the cannabis farm from raids by rival gangs.

All three defendants denied any knowledge of the cannabis farm, with Saghawat Ramzan claiming he feared the burglars were targeting his home containing Cartier and Rolex watches.

Opening the Crown's case last month, prosecutor Adrian Keeling QC said the property was being used to grow cannabis worth up to £225,000 a year.

Telling jurors a rival gang had attacked the rear of the cannabis factory at about 2.30am, Mr Keeling said of Saghawat and Omar Ramzan: "Despite the time of night, these two defendants were immediately aware of the attack and the fact it was taking place."

CCTV initially captured Saghawat Ramzan firing a crossbow at the rear of the cannabis factory, but he missed would-be intruders, striking a shed.

Finance worker Omar Ramzan, who graduated in 2018 with a first class BSc in accounting and management studies, was caught on CCTV brandishing a knife and a smaller crossbow, as well as holding down Mr Douglas.

Sageer drove to Pensnett Road to join efforts to protect the drug-growing operation after a nine-second phone call from Waseem Ramzan.

CCTV which Saghawat Ramzan tried to delete showed Sageer arriving at the scene and handling a second crossbow during the fatal struggle.

At the start of the trial, Mr Keeling told the jury: "They sprang into violent defence of the drug-growing operation.

"Rather than let them (the rival gang) retreat into the night, they blocked their retreat and effectively boxed the raiders into the house.

"The raiders had no real choice but to smash a window at the front of the house... and try to get away."

All three defendants were remanded in custody and will face mandatory life terms when they are sentenced on March 12.

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