A remorseless killer grinned as he was arrested for plotting the murder of his delivery driver cousin.
Mohamed Adaw, 23, ordered Arlind Hashani to carry out the murder, calling him before the attack on 29 December 2023.
Hashani, 23, dressed in a balaclava, stabbed Ahmed Ali Jama, 29, four times on the Abbey Estate in Camden, north London.
Before his arrest, Adaw sat with his victim’s family in hospital as people came to pay their condolences.
They both denied murder but were convicted by a jury earlier this month. Hashani was also convicted of possession of a pointed or bladed article.
Video footage from Adaw’s arrest showed the killer grinning as police showed up at his door to arrest him on suspicion of murder.
He told police ‘do you know who that is to me? That is my f***ing cousin’, as they explained that he had been seen arguing with a male where the stabbing took place.
Hashani then mocked the victim’s sister with sarcastic applause after she read an emotional statement to the court.
He interrupted her mid-speech and was told off by the judge, then shouted ‘well done, congratulations’ as she finished.
Reading her victim impact statement, Mr Ali Jama’s sister Sidal said: ‘I miss everything about him. I miss his hugs, I miss his smile, I miss his jokes.
‘If anything ever went wrong, I would call him, and he would be there for me. The reality that he would never be there for me again is devastating for me to accept.’
She wept as she said Adaw was ‘not a stranger’ to the family and in his final moments Mr Ali Jama ‘trusted’ him, saying: ‘His last words were “call my cousin”, these words will stay with me forever.’
Ms Ali Jama added: ‘I will never forgive you for what you have done, Mohamed. We have been given a life sentence of grief.’
Wearing a blue sports top Hashani confirmed his identity to the court by saying: ‘Yeah that’s man, the one and only.’
Adaw joked with a prison officer as he entered court and gave a thumbs up.
Earlier, jurors heard how Mr Ali Jama was taken to hospital after the attack at 7.32pm but died of his injuries at 9.55pm.
CCTV showed Hashani arriving on a moped, which he had rented, while wearing the same clothing as the day of the killing.
Footage showed Hashani calling someone on his phone and saying: ‘I’m with him, I’m on the Abbey, his brother is with me’ and ‘What do you want me to do?’
At the end of the call he immediately pulled out a knife and ran towards Ahmed.
Phone data showed it was Adaw who had called him ahead of the attack.
Before his arrest, Adaw visited Mr Ali Jama’s family at hospital and sat among them as people came to pay their condolences.
Hashani fled overseas but was arrested in Paris last year.
Hashani and Adaw both have previous convictions, the court was told.
Adaw was 16 when he committed his first offence of robbery in a Tube carriage before racking up four further convictions totalling nine offences, including for knife and drug possession.
Hashani has 27 offences across 15 convictions, the first committed when he was just 13, involving multiple counts of drug possession with intent to supply.
Hashani, of Bray Fellows Road, Camden, and Adaw, of Ingestre Road, Camden, denied but were convicted of murder.
Sentencing, Judge Judy Khan KC will sentence them later today (mon).
Detective Chief Inspector Phil Clarke, who led the Met investigation, earlier said: ‘Ahmed Ali Jama was a delivery driver, who had visited his home estate and was talking to an old friend during his shift. He was unarmed and defenceless as he was fatally stabbed by Hashani on the orders of Adaw, Ahmed’s cousin.
‘Hashani thought he had escaped justice after fleeing overseas, but dedicated detectives tracked him down – working with international partners to bring him to court.
‘He and Adaw are remorseless killers. London is a safer place now they are off our streets.
‘Our thoughts remain with Ahmed’s family, who have maintained a dignified presence throughout the trial, despite hearing the distressing evidence of their loved one’s last moments.’
