Barrister caught plotting revenge attack over Huddersfield shooting jailed
38 year old Samreen Akhtar was recording plotting an attack with a client
A Huddersfield barrister who colluded with a client to plot a revenge attack, as part of a drugs feud, has been jailed for three years three months.
38 year old Samreen Akhtar, of Sufton Street, was representing Tabish Ali, who had been shot during an incident on Blacker Road in September 2021.
She was recorded putting to Ali that they find the person responsible for the shooting so a revenge attack could be carried out.
Ali was charged in October 2021 with the murder of Jamal NeDd, who was shot the previous December. He is now serving a life sentence.
The trial was told the killing was part of a 'turf war' between rival gangs of drug dealers, which had involved multiple violent incidents since 2018.
Akhtar was convicted of encouraging or assisting the commission of an indictable offence and was convicted following a trial at Manchester Crown Court in July.
Detective Inspector Paul Hutchinson, of West Yorkshire Police, said:
“As a professional working in the criminal justice system, Samreen Akhtar would have been acutely aware of her legal and moral responsibilities, but she chose to act outside of those to plot revenge with a dangerous criminal involved in a violent gang feud which included the brutal execution of a rival, for which he was later convicted.
“In doing so, she became a criminal herself and showed a complete disregard for the standards that are expected of those in the legal profession, and also for the significant negative impact that gang-related violence and criminality have on our communities.
“West Yorkshire Police remains firmly committed to targeting serious and organised criminals under our ongoing Programme Precision initiative, and we will continue to relentlessly pursue those involved, no matter what their role or occupation, to keep our communities safe.”