A NEW prisoner swap alliance between the UK and US governments has given detectives fresh hope of bringing to justice the prime suspect in a Bradford execution-style murder.

It is more than 13 years since family man Mohammed Basharat, 33, was gunned down in cold blood in the minicab office where he worked.

Father-of-four Mr Basharat, of Heaton, Bradford, was shot twice in the head with a .38 calibre handgun by a lone hooded gunman who burst into the offices of Little Horton Taxis, in Park Lane, Little Horton, on October 20, 2001.

Three years ago, detectives named Ricardo Linton, serving a substantial jail sentence in the US for a shooting in New York, as a "person of significant interest" to the Basharat murder inquiry.

Linton, who was living in Bradford at the time of the killing, had refused to speak to West Yorkshire detectives.

Now US authorities are preparing extradition proceedings under a new treaty to bring Linton back to the UK to face trial. It would be the first extradition to the UK since the two governments reached the agreement.

Detective Chief Inspector Steve Snow, of West Yorkshire Police's Protective Services (Crime) department, who is in charge of the murder investigation, said it had brought new hope to Mr Basharat's family.

He said: "The Temporary Surrender Agreement was signed between the governments of the UK and US and allows either country to apply for a serving prisoner to be extradited to stand trial in the other. After the conclusion of the trial they would be returned.

"Through the Home Office, we have now been able to secure the authority to seek extradition of Linton under that treaty.

"West Yorkshire officers travelled to the US to liaise with the authorities there and initiate the extradition proceedings. The application is now with the US Justice Department, which is preparing a case for extradition. It will be the first time this treaty has been used in the UK."

Det Chief Insp Snow said the efforts of the police to make use of the new treaty had brought renewed hope to the family of Mr Basharat that one day they would see justice for the killing of their loved one.

He added: "They are pleased that after all this time we continue to pursue the person who killed their husband, father and brother in such a brutal way. While they are trying to move on with their lives, they still hope that the killer will be brought to trial. But every time police contact them it brings back awful memories of that fateful, horrible day."

The day before his murder, Mr Basharat had been involved in a road rage incident in his taxi. He came to blows with the other driver, a Jamaican man, who told him: "I am going to kill you."

At the time, Linton, who was nicknamed Teddy and had the alias Wayne Alfonso MacDonald, lived in the Little Horton and Girlington areas and often frequented the Young Lions Club in Lumb Lane, Bradford.

He came to the UK in June 2001, initially lived in London, but soon moved to Bradford, where he stayed with a number of girlfriends. He disappeared shortly after Mr Basharat's murder.