THE jury in a gun conspiracy trial has been told of a dispute over drugs between rivals from Bradford and Huddersfield.

Giving evidence for the defence, Mohsin Amin, 32, who along with two other men denies conspiracy to possess firearms and ammunition with intent to endanger life, also told the jury of the moment the Audi he was driving was stopped by police who shot dead his passenger, 28-year-old Huddersfield man Yassar Yaqub, on January 2 last year.

PREVIOUS UPDATES FROM THIS TRIAL

The trial at Leeds Crown Court yesterday heard how Dewsbury-born Amin, who now lives in Manchester, was asked by Mr Yaqub to go along with him to Cafe de Akbar, in Leeds Road, Bradford, to meet with Mohammed Nisar Khan, also known as Meggy, to sort out a dispute.

The court was told that there was ‘street talk’ that drugs had gone missing. Amin said Mr Yaqub and Meggy did not trust one another, so Meggy did not want to come to Huddersfield and Mr Yaqub did not want to go to Bradford.

“I just went along to keep the peace,” Amin told the jury. He did not expect any violence.

Amin told the court he understood that Mr Yaqub might be “set up” with the police because Meggy was a police informer.

Mr Justice Turner asked: “By set him up, you mean frame him?”

Amin answered: “Yes.”

The court has previously heard that police had tracked a white Audi and a VW Scirocco from Huddersfield to Bradford. The cars allegedly reached speeds of over 100mph as they headed along the M62.

Yesterday the jury heard that Mr Yaqub and Amin dined in Cafe de Akbar for over an hour with Meggy and Kashif Tahir. Mr Yaqub was telling Meggy that a man called Khalil owed him money. Meggy said Khalil had told him he did not owe any money. The discussion lasted 15 to 20 minutes. It was agreed that Meggy would bring Khalil to a meeting the next day.

On the way back to Huddersfield Mr Yaqub was happy because “everything was going to be resolved”. He was on the phone to Khalil for a minute.

Minutes after the meeting in Bradford ended, Mr Yaqub was shot dead by a police marksman after the Audi – driven by Amin with Mr Yaqub in the front passenger seat – and Scirocco were stopped by police on the slip road of the M62 at junction 24, Ainley Top.

Amin said he had leased the Audi on December 7, 2016, because he did not own a car. He had been banned for speeding and recently got his licence back. He leased the vehicle for over the Christmas period.

He said Mr Yaqub did not tell him he was bringing a gun with him to Bradford or that he would be armed. He did not see him with a gun in the car or in Akbar’s cafe.

Asked: “If you had known he was carrying a gun, would you have allowed him in your car?” Amin replied: “No I would not.”

Asked about a bag of bullets and a silencer found in the Audi by police, Amin said they were not previously in the car’s glove compartment. He did not see Mr Yaqub put them in there but he had the opportunity when they arrived at the cafe, as he had got out the car a few seconds ahead of Mr Yaqub.

Amin told the court he immediately threw his hands in the air when police stopped the Audi at Ainley Top.

An officer referred to in court as Zulu 38 was pointing his weapon at him.

“You were effectively eyeball to eyeball with Zulu 38,” his barrister said. “Yes I was,” Amin replied.

He agreed with officer Zulu’s statement that “He (Amin) stared wide-eyed at me”.

Amin said he was in shock. He did not see Mr Yaqub’s reaction to the police officers.

In a defence statement Amin said he did not know the occupants of the Scirocco or why the vehicle was following him.

Amin told the court he did not reveal what happened in the cafe until he made a supplementary defence statement shortly before the trial.

“It was a big decision to make to mention people’s names,” he said.

Cross-examined by Peter Moulson QC for the prosecution, Amin said he did not know the amount of drugs lost or their value.

Mr Moulson suggested to Amin that a meeting between Meggy and Mr Yaqub must have been important. Amin said he was just there to keep the peace. He agreed he was driving at 100mph to Bradford and that he might have gone through a traffic light as it was changing.

He said that at the cafe, Mr Yaqub told Meggy he wanted money for some drugs.

Mr Amin said that Bradford was "Meggy's turf", but asked whether Meggy was "a main drug dealer in Bradford" he replied: "No, I'm just saying that's where he lived."

Asked again if Meggy was a drug dealer, Amin responded: "Not that I know of."

After the meeting, Mr Yaqub got out of the Audi near the cafe to speak to the two men in the Scirocco, said Amin.

Amin said he did not ask Mr Yaqub why the car was following them back to Huddersfield. Amin said under cross-examination that Mr Yaqub still had a man bag which he had taken into the cafe when he got back into the Audi. He was wearing gloves.

Amin said he drove at up to 80mph on the way back.

He concluded his evidence for the day by saying he had been scared to name people and feared for his life.

David Butlin, 39, of Huddersfield Road, Holmfirth, and Rexhino Arapaj, 28, of Thornlea Road, Huddersfield, were the driver and passenger of the other car respectively.

They also deny conspiracy to possess firearms and ammunition with intent to endanger life.

The trial continues.