UK's Crown Prosecution submitted fresh evidence of communication between the accused and his Pak-based handler in the case involving a British-Pakistani man charged for conspiring to kill a Netherlands-based blogger and activist. The trial entered its fourth day on Tuesday.
Muhammad Gohir Khan had planned with his handlers to travel to The Netherlands to kill blogger Ahmad Waqass Goraya. Court papers refer to the handlers as Muzamil/Mudz/Pappa/Mush. Later the accused identified his handler as Muzamil.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said that Mohammed Asif and Raza Syed Hassan helped Khan receive 5,000 pounds from Muzamil on May 21, 2021, reported Pakistan daily DAWN.
In May last year, Khan contacted Asif and asked him for a favour. He said he had money in Pakistan that he needed in the UK, and that he would transfer 5,000 pounds into Asif's bank account if Asif gave the amount to him in cash.
Asif asked for the money to be transferred in Pakistani rupees into his bank account in Pakistan. They agreed on the currency exchange rate of Rs 220 to the pound which amounted to Rs 1.1 million.
Asif later asked his brother-in-law Syed to give the envelope to Khan. The two met the next day at Syed's house in London's Cricklewood area.
The Crown Prosecution Service told the jury that a certain amount of payment for the job was agreed upon by his handler.
Another revelation in the trial was that at the time of the arrest, Muhammad Gohir Khan lived at his home address with his parents, wife, and six children.
The prosecution also mentioned that it appears that the handler holds a British passport.
Both Khan and Mudz - one of the alleged handlers according to court documents - had disputes over the payments with Mudz telling Khan that he has a "B passport and does not need a visa to enter the UK", reported DAWN.
The jury was informed by the prosecution that Mudz said he travelled to Europe on personal trips and thus the amount cannot be as high as Khan was demanding from him.
Notably, Khan was in Rotterdam on an alleged reconnaissance mission linked to the Goraya murder plot and demanded more money for his expenses. But Mudz said the receipts he had provided showed he spent far less.
The police have listed the items found on Khan at the time of his arrest - Samsung Galaxy Note 10, a black Nokia phone, an SFR SIM card, and a Lycamobile SIM card.
When the WhatsApp conversations were scrutinised for evidence, the chats between the accused and his handlers pointed towards the plot of Goraya's murder for 1,00,000 pounds.
The hearing was scheduled to continue at the Kingston-upon-Thames crown court today.
