Police fail in bid to impose Serious Crime Prevention Orders on three Bradford men

Police have failed in a bid to impose Serious Crime Prevention Orders on three Bradford men jailed for a firearms conspiracy.

The orders would have been among the first to be granted in West Yorkshire.

But Judge David Hatton QC yesterday rejected a prosecution application for orders against Iflaq Khan, Nadeem Hussain and Joseph Stott, all from Bradford, as well as Umar Hussain, from the Midlands, at a Bradford Crown Court hearing.

Khan, 36, of Baxendall Street, West Bowling, Bradford; Nadeem Hussain, 33, of Merton Road, Little Horton, Bradford; and Joseph Stott, 25, of Halton Place, Great Horton, Bradford; were each jailed for seven and a half years in January last year after pleading guilty to conspiracy to possess a firearm and ammunition with intent to endanger life.

Umar Hussain, 30, of Sandhurst Avenue, Birmingham, was jailed for three and a half years after admitting conspiracy to possess a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence. He has already been released from prison.

The plot involved an agreement to supply a sawn off shotgun and three live cartridges to an unknown person in Birmingham to shoot someone.

Khan, an office worker at Khan's Solicitors in Sunbridge Road, Bradford, was the contact and organiser in Bradford. He enrolled Nadeem Hussain to obtain the weapon and ammunition from Stott, to hand over to Umar Hussain, who was paid £300 by an unknown person to drive from Birmingham to collect the gun and cartridges.

But barrister Nick Worsley, representing Khan, said it had been a one-off incident, arising out of a peculiar set of circumstances.Prosecutor Andrew Kershaw told the court yesterday that the Crown's case was that the orders would protect the public by preventing, restricting or disrupting the involvement by the defendants in serious crime.

Jason Pitter QC, for Nadeem Hussain, said his client had a limited role as a facilitator.

Stott's barrister, Camille Morland, said he did not accept he was involved in the transfer of the weapon, his role was to assist in its storage.

Abdul Iqbal QC, for Umar Hussain, said he had no convictions before or since. He was involved on one occasion to pick up a holdall and take it to Birmingham.

Judge Hatton said: "I am unable to assess that there is a real and significant risk of the commission of further serious offences, within the definition of the Act, to justify the making of an order in any case."