West Midlands Armed Robbery: Man Jailed as Gang Members Receive Sentences for Violent Attack

A masked gang of robbers has been jailed after a terrifying armed raid on a computer shop in Smethwick, West Midlands. CCTV footage from the January 12, 2023, incident shows the four men carrying out the brazen attack on City Computers, where they fired a shotgun at terrified staff.

Two employees were inside the store during the robbery, suffering non-life-threatening injuries, including a gunshot wound to the arm and another to the neck. Fortunately, neither victim’s injuries were fatal.

Two of the men use axes to smash the windows of the shop (Picture: West Midlands Police / SWNS)

The footage captures a Ford Fiesta pulling up outside the shop, followed by four men rushing out of the vehicle. Two of the robbers used axes to smash the shop windows, while the other two entered the store wielding shotguns. One of the men fired the weapon at a closed-door before forcibly kicking it open and heading to a back office. After a short time, two intruders rushed back to their vehicle while the others continued to cause damage inside the store.

Investigators later revealed that CCTV footage from the day before showed the gang scoping out the area around the store, and police intercepted numerous calls between them on the morning of the attack.

Azeem Hussain was the last of the six to be jailed (Credits: West Midlands Police / SWNS). Three of the gang members were sentenced to prison in August: Haider Shabir, 21, received 14 years; Mohammed Uwais Latif, 24, was sentenced to 9 years and 10 months; and Mohammed Tayyib Wajid, 26, was given 21 months. In April, Ahmed Aumair, 21, was jailed for 12 years and six months, while Jamal Hussain, 22, received a nine-year sentence in September.

Jamal Hussain was jailed for nine years and two months in September (Picture: West Midlands Police / SWNS)The final member of the gang, Azeem Hussain, 26, was sentenced to eight years in prison at Worcester Crown Court yesterday. Hussain had fled to Pakistan after the attack but was arrested upon his return to the UK in April. He had previously admitted to firearm offences in an earlier hearing.

The four men just before the attack on the shop (Picture: West Midlands Police/SWNS)Detective Inspector Francis Nock from West Midlands Police’s Major Crime Unit commented, “All six men involved in this planned armed attack have been convicted and sentenced. Azeem Hussain was a key player in this operation, and his lengthy sentence reflects that.”

“This could have easily been a fatal attack, but miraculously, the injuries of the two victims were not serious,” Nock continued. “Weapons have no place on our streets, and we will continue to bring those to justice who think it’s acceptable to use them to bring violence into our communities.”