London: Two men who were convicted earlier this year of fatally stabbing an Indian-origin man in west London’s Southall suburb have been sentenced to a total of 40 years in jail.
Balbir Johal, 48, was attacked in March and admitted to hospital with stab injuries. He died a short time later.
Detectives from the Metropolitan Police’s Homicide and Major Crime Command launched a murder investigation and established that Johal was involved in an altercation with the two men — Hassan Mohamed and Yassin Yussuf — on Marlborough Road, Southall, on March 19.
According to a Daily Mail report on Tuesday, Mohamed and Yussuf were drug dealers and they killed their rival Johal after catching him selling crack cocaine and heroin on their patch.
The two men were charged with the murder. During a trial at an Old Bailey court on Tuesday, Mohamed was found guilty of Johal’s murder. He was jailed for 26 years and was told that he must serve the full term before being considered for release.
Yussuf was convicted of manslaughter and was sentenced to 14 years and an additional three years on license on release. He was told he must serve nine-and-a-half years in prison before being considered for release, the Metropolitan Police said in a release.
A CCTV footage of the incident showed the two men in a white Mercedes pulling up alongside Johal before getting out and speaking to him.
One then returned to the vehicle and armed himself with a knife from inside the car before chasing after Johal and fatally stabbing him.
He was driven to hospital by a family member and treated for his injuries but could not be saved.
The following day, Mohamed and Yussuf were stopped by the police in the car that had been captured on CCTV and were detained and subsequently charged.
According to Duncan Penny, prosecution, Johal was killed “because he was dealing drugs in the wrong place at the wrong time”.
[source_without_link]IANS[/source_without_link]