Alleged mastermind 'went to brothel' night before Bradford robbery where PC Sharon Beshenivsky died

The alleged mastermind of an armed robbery which saw a police officer killed had spent the night before partying and visiting a brothel with three of his fellow robbers, a court has heard.

PC Sharon Beshenivsky was killed on 18 November 2005 as she and her colleague PC Teresa Milburn responded to a report of a robbery at Universal Express travel agents in Bradford, West Yorkshire.

Almost two decades on, the alleged orchestrator of the robbery, Piran Ditta Khan, is on trial accused of PC Beshenivsky’s murder after being extradited from Pakistan.

Leeds Crown Court has heard seven men were involved in carrying out the raid, with Khan the last of the group to face trial.

Jurors were told that the group had gathered at a “safe house” in Leeds the night before the robbery.

Francois Baron, who was working on renovating the house for Caradon Estates, said Khan arrived at the house the day before the robbery along with Faisal Razzaq – one of the robbers, who went on to be convicted of manslaughter.

Mr Baron said Khan was known to the group by the name of “uncle”.

Mr Baron told police he saw Muzzaker Imtiaz Shah – who was later one of three of the gang convicted of PC Beshenivsky’s murder – take a pistol and machine gun out of a bag, before producing a bag of bullets.

Prosecutor Robert Smith KC said Faisal Razzaq “warned Francois Baron never to speak about the gun and told him his life would be in danger if he did”.

Mr Smith said the group drank champagne and vodka at the house on Harehills Lane before six men, including Mr Baron and Khan, got a minibus to a brothel in Leeds.

Mr Baron told police Faisal Razzaq’s brother Hassan Razzaq – who was also later convicted of manslaughter – gave the men £80 each in cash “to spend on entertainment and sex” before they returned to the safe house for the night.

Jurors were told that the next day Mr Baron was painting the landing and heard the group discussing the plot in one of the bedrooms.

Mr Baron said he heard Muzzaker Shah asking Khan: “Uncle, is it safe?” Khan was said to have replied: “Yes, it’s safe. Genuine.”

Shah then asked: “How much can we get?” Khan allegedly replied: “Minimum fifty thousand pounds, maximum target hundred grand.”

“The group were elated – there were shouts of ‘Let’s go do it’,” Mr Smith told the jury.

“They seemed to Francois Baron to be very confident.”

The court heard the three men who actually carried out the robbery then changed into smart clothing, which prosecutors say was to allay any suspicions of staff at Universal Express, who had to let any potential customers in through an electronic door.

Mr Smith said Khan was the only one of the group who had this knowledge, and that he had used Universal Express before to send money to his brother in Pakistan.

Mr Baron said that when the group returned from the robbery he heard Shah telling Khan that he had not told them there was a police station near where they were going.

The witness alleged the group later panicked when they saw PC Beshenivsky’s death announced on the news, with three of them shaving their heads and burning the clothes they had used to commit the robbery.

Khan, 75, flew to Pakistan months after PC Beshenivsky’s death, and remained at liberty there until he was arrested and detained by Pakistani authorities in January 2020.

He arrived in the UK last April after an extradition request from the British Government.

Prosecutors say that although Khan was not one of the three men who carried out the robbery, and did not leave the safety of a Mercedes SLK which was allegedly being used as a lookout car, he is guilty of PC Beshenivsky’s murder due to his “pivotal” role in planning the raid.

He denies murder, two counts of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life and two counts of possession of a prohibited weapon.

PC Beshenivsky, 38, had only been an officer for nine months when she was shot in the chest at point blank range while responding to the robbery.

PC Milburn was shot in the chest but survived.

The trial continues.

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