A drug dealing “bully” was jailed for 20 years after he tried to kill a man who wanted to stop working for him.

Recorder of Bradford Judge James Stewart QC told Mohammed Hanees Shabir he had intended to murder Qaiser Rafique to instil terror in anyone else who decided to follow suit.

Shabir, 27, of Spencer Road, Great Horton, was convicted of attempted murder by a jury at Bradford Crown Court yesterday.

During the trial the court was told he had shot a nine-millimetre handgun into a car in Summerville Road, Shearbridge, from a distance of a few feet away, as his intended victim fled for his life on September 24 last year.

The next day, prosecutor Stephen Wood told the jury, Shabir had assaulted Mr Rafique at a car wash near Toller Lane, along with his co-accused, Mohammed Asim Khan and Mohammed Aaqib.

Judge Stewart said: “You bore a grievance against Qaiser Rafique because he had refused to continue to sell drugs for you, so you thought you would teach him a lesson by murdering him so others disposed to behave likewise would be terrified of you. You are a bully.”

The judge, who described the attempted murder as a “determined and planned offence” said Shabir had arranged to meet Mr Rafique after threatening to kill him earlier that day and then pursued him with a loaded handgun.

“You shot at him from a distance of five to six feet with the intention of murdering him, and fortunately you missed,” he said. “The following day you tried again to cause him injury.”

Shabir, who has previous convictions for drugs related offences, was sentenced to 20 years in jail for the attempted murder, five years for two firearms offences and six months for the assault at the car wash, with all sentences to run concurrently.

He was acquitted of one further firearms offence and attempted kidnap.

Mohammed Aaqib, 22, of Harriet Street, Listerhills, Bradford, and Mohammed Asim Khan, 27, of Park Hill Drive, Allerton, Bradford, were convicted of assaulting Mr Rafique at the car wash causing actual bodily harm.

They were cleared of charges of attempted kidnap.

The judge commended the police officers involved for their work in what was described by Mr Wood as a difficult case.

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