Detective in Sharon Beshenivsky murder case fulfils promise

Piran Ditta Khan, 75, of no fixed abode, was the seventh and final member of a gang to be convicted after the murder of 38-year-old PC Beshenivsky on November 18, 2005.

The 75-year-old was the mastermind behind a botched robbery at Universal Express Travel, in Morley Street, Bradford, where PC Beshenivsky and her colleague, PC Teresa Milburn, were shot as three armed men tasked with carrying out the criminal escapade fled the premises.

He was found guilty of PC Beshenivsky’s murder on Thursday at Leeds Crown Court, after a trial lasting more than seven weeks.

Andy Brennan was Detective Chief Superintendent at West Yorkshire Police during that time and led the 15-year long manhunt for Khan, who had fled to Pakistan just two months after the killing.

He spoke about a commitment he made to a number of people and the public in the immediacy of the shocking tragedy.

Mr Brennan said: “It was important for me to meet Paul Beshenivsky and family.

“I went to their address, I gave a commitment I would find everyone involved.”

PC Sharon Beshenviksy died after being shot in Morley Street, Bradford (Image: Other)

The former detective also went to Bradford hospital to give PC Milburn a similar promise, while the late Chief Constable Colin Cramphorn gave words of reassurance to the brothers who owned the travel agents.

He then gave the public “a commitment we would find them all” at a press conference on the evening of the shootings.

The conviction of Khan was tinged with sadness for Mr Brennan, with the tragic loss of an officer and another suffering injuries.

But he said: “Having given that commitment and now seeing it all come full circle really, seeing Khan convicted, it’s a really proud moment for me, because the team we had on that job was exceptional and pulled out every stop available.”

In the infancy of the investigation, detectives thought there were only three people involved – the three men tasked with raiding the building.

The case was “very fast moving” though and the big team police pulled together quickly realised there were more than three.

Mr Brennan said: “We did not have the identities of those but we knew they were very dangerous.

“There was pressure to protect other police officers and force.”

All seven men involved had been identified by the start of 2006, with two of the three who stormed the travel agents arrested – Muzzaker Shah and Yusuf Jama.

Mr Brennan said: “What happened to Khan was, he saw others being arrested and bit by bit this was all coming down on him.”

Khan boarded a flight from London Heathrow to Islamabad on January 22, 2006, and so began a painstaking, 18-year battle, to bring him back to face justice.

Meanwhile, Mustaf Jama, the third armed robber, and brother to Yusuf, had also escaped to Somalia.

Mr Brennan said: “I knew from previous experience, we didn’t have extradition in place for them.

“I was keen to extradite under a legal agreement.”

He “badgered” the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Home Office over an 18-month period, making it clear the force had all the evidence needed to make it happen.

The team received conflicting reports from Pakistan that Khan had died in a car crash or of natural causes.

But Mr Brennan said: “None of it I believed in any way, such, or form”.

Khan’s familiarity with his homeland was also an issue for police and the Pakistan authorities in trying to track him down.

Mr Brennan said: “Khan was not a stranger to Pakistan, he knew some of the cities like the back of his hand, and knew how to hide.”

Jama was eventually seized in 2007 and brought back to the UK, where he was convicted of murder, robbery, and firearm offences in 2009.

Khan remained at large though but this did not deter Mr Brennan.    

He said: “When we convicted Jama, one of the things I was keen to get out was we knew where he was.

“I wanted him to be looking over his shoulder; every time he heard a rustling in the trees.”

Khan was extradited in April 2023 and charged with PC Beshenivsky’s murder.

Mr Brennan retired from the force before this but was in the public gallery for part of Khan’s trial.

He said: “I think for the people who were in the force at the time and officers joining since then, in the Sharon and Teresa era, it demonstrates West Yorkshire Police will not leave anything untouched, the most serious crimes involving officers.

“It sends a message out to people who live this lifestyle, criminals.

“It doesn’t matter where you are, you will be found and face the consequences of your actions – that’s the important message to send out.”

He added: “Both to Paul and the family, the children who are adults now, Teresa, what they went through at the time, they’ve never forgotten that and it can never be changed.

But now, with the final conviction completed, the former detective feels they can begin to move forward at last.