THE BRUTAL murder of a taxi driver in 1979 was a bizarre crime which left officers scratching their heads for a motive.

Sultan Mahmood's body was found on February 23 with stab wounds and burned almost beyond recognition by two men scouring waste land for scrap in a disused railway coalyard in Dryden Street, off Wakefield Road.

The death of the 31-year-old father-of-four, from Thurnscoe Road, Manningham, was initially believed to be the work of an Asian Mafia gang.

On the day after Mr Mahmood's body was found, police told the Telegraph & Argus they had discovered the taxi driver made two trips to Pakistan with vans and he was killed on the orders of the men running a "van smuggling" operation, which involved the theft of vans from all over Britain before shipping them to Pakistan.

Police also appealed for anyone who knew anything about a mysterious Oriental style dress ring to contact them after that was found near the 31-year-old's body.

However, detectives were unable to gather much information about both leads, complaining the Asian community had put up a "wall of silence" and were not speaking out because they feared the police.

Slides were made to show in the city's Asian cinemas which depicted a dark blue material with a white leaf design and a pink ribbon used to bind Mr Mahmood's head and face.

Officers also went into schools to try and get English-speaking Asian youngsters to help them break the language barrier and relay appeals back to their older relatives, who often spoke no English.

No one stood trial for the murder until 1983, but even then the prosecution fell apart, with a judge branding two witnesses "feckless, worthless and totally dishonest."

The prosecution case was based on prisoners who claimed another inmate had told them he was responsible for the killing.

The pair claimed the man on trial for murder had told them he was involved, but the judge said it was unlikely anyone would confess two and a half years later in prison, while both men admitted during the trial they had stood to gain from giving statements, including charges being wiped and another getting bail.

Leads dried up until a member of the public came forward in 1994 with information they had kept secret for 15 years.

Police considered the information worthy enough to re-open the case, but charges were never brought and the killer has never been brought to justice.

A Force spokesperson said: "West Yorkshire Police has a dedicated team of detectives who carry out reviews of these investigations in line with new evidence coming to light or advances in forensic technology. 

"If you have information which may assist, then please contact the Major Investigation Review Team on 101 or by using the contact options on the West Yorkshire Police website. 

"Information can also be reported anonymously to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555111."