Evidence gathered by detectives results in three men being jailed for killing a man on his doorstep

Iron Miah, 40, was attacked on 19 November 2019 in Nelson Street, E1 and died in hospital two days later from a catastrophic brain injury.

Officers carried out painstaking work using cell site data following the discovery of burner phones with key evidence of communication between the killers.

The team also identified a source who attempted to insert himself into the investigation and provide false intelligence, and who later turned out to be one of the men responsible for Iron’s murder.

Detective Chief Inspector David Whellams said: “My team worked tirelessly over a long period of time to ensure that Iron’s family could receive the justice they deserve.

“This was a well planned, deliberate and callous act of violence in a residential area. Nobody deserves to be the victim of such brutality and the three people jailed today will have many years to reflect on that. Our streets are safer now they are behind bars.

“I would like to pay tribute to Iron’s family, who have been extremely supportive of the investigation in the face of a long road to justice, while living with the trauma of losing their loved one. My thoughts are with them today.”

The three were convicted of the murder of Mr Miah at the Old Bailey on Tuesday, 9 January, four years after he was shot on his doorstep in Tower Hamlets.

They appeared at the Old Bailey on Wednesday, 28 February where they were sentenced as follows:

Mohammed Moshaer Ali, 31 (07.04.92) of Western Avenue, Dagenham was sentenced to life imprisonment to serve a minimum of 36 years for the murder. He had also been convicted of perverting the course of justice.

Antonio Afflick-McLeod, 32 (09.03.91) of Mayfair Avenue, Ilford was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder and will serve a minimum of 34 years. He was also sentenced for drugs offences, as well as possession of a firearm and possession of pepper spray.

Aaron Campbell, 32 (30.08.91) of Star Road, Fulham was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder and will serve a minimum of 31 years.

Following Iron’s shooting, detectives immediately began an investigation which led to five people being charged, and unusually, three trials.

Crucially, the murder squad detectives were able to track the communications that linked the defendants to the killing, despite the group’s extensive and deliberate use of disposable ‘burner phones’ to communicate with each other.

In the days after the murder, Ali made a number of calls to police providing false intelligence. Once charged and remanded, he also encouraged a prison officer at HMP Belmarsh to tell police lies in order to implicate one of his co-defendants. It is this revelation during Court proceedings that collapsed the second trial in 2022.

In the days leading up to his murder Iron’s family described how he had been receiving a series of messages on his phone that were making him anxious.

On the night of his murder he had returned home at about 22:00hrs and then received a call from Mohammed Ali.

After the call, he went out and got into a Honda Civic on Nelson Street and spoke to the occupants.

Upon leaving the Honda he then sent a message on his phone saying “Viewing done” to Mohammed Ali.

As he was walking back to his house after visiting a local shop, a man got out of the passenger door of a parked Volkswagen Polo and approached Iron from behind.

The gunman fired a single shot and the bullet struck Iron in the head.

The gunman returned to the car and drove off followed by the Honda Civic that Mr Miah had previously visited; the VW Polo was on false plates and has never been recovered. The police told the court that Antonio Afflick-McLeod and Aaron Campbell were believed to be the men in the Polo.

The gun used was also never recovered, but when Afflick-McLeod was arrested – a considerable amount of drugs and a sawn-off-shotgun were found at his home address.

The day before Iron's murder, at around 16:30hrs, a man bought a SIM card from a convenience store on Movers Lane in Barking. Officers seized the CCTV and identified Afflick-McLeod as the purchaser. The SIM was crucial in the evidence and linked him to communications with Ali.

Evidence such as this, convinced a jury of the group’s guilt.