A MAN WHO fled to the US after committing a brutal murder almost two decades ago has finally been brought to justice.

Foyjur Rahman, 44, of no fixed address, was found guilty today at the Old Bailey of the murder of takeaway delivery man Abdus Samad in 1997. He was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum of 18 years.

Samad suffered horrific injuries after being attacked with weapons including a machete, meat cleaver and baseball bat in the attack in Islington.

The 25-year-old Bangladeshi man from Bethnal Green, E1, was married with two young daughters. At the time of his death he was working as a delivery driver for ‘Curry in a Hurry’, based in St Pauls Road, Islington.

On the night of Wednesday, 21 May 1997, a public telephone kiosk was used to place a bogus order to be delivered to an address in Alwyne Road, Islington. Mr Samad was dispatched with the food and parked his car near the property.

As soon as he got out of his vehicle Samad was chased into Alwyne Villas by two or three masked suspects and viciously attacked with a variety of weapons.

Police and paramedics were called after 10:30pm and Mr Samad was taken to Whittington Hospital where he died at approximately 1:50am on Thursday 22 May.

After the murder Rahman swiftly left the country, flying to the United States on 23 May 1997.

In 2012, another one of the attackers was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder.

During further enquiries carried out following that trial, DNA found on a makeshift mask discarded at the scene proved a match for Rahman’s. His fingerprints were also found on a bag used to bring weapons to the location.

Plot to kill 

Rahman was extradited from the US and arrested by Met officers on his arrival at Heathrow Airport on 27 January 2016. He appeared at Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court the following day.

The motive for Mr Samad’s murder was a dispute between two Bangladeshi groups, one from the Stoke Newington area and the other from Brick Lane.

This had escalated into a series of incidents and fights – the victim was called in by the Brick Lane group as a go-between to try and sort matters out.

When he refused, the suspects plotted to kill him, luring him to a quiet residential address and carrying out the attack.

In an extract from a victim impact statement, Mr Samad’s family said:

“There is not a single day that passes when Kamal and the incredibly violent way in which he died is not in our thoughts. Our loss is permanent. All of us have nightmares over the horror of the death.

Kamal’s daughters are now 19 and 22 years old. They express sadness that their father is not able to share in their achievements.

Investigating officer Detective Sergeant Nick Miller, of the Homicide and Major Crime Command, said: “It has taken many years but I am very pleased that a jury convicted Rahman for his part in this violent murder.”

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