A man was lured to a car park near a picturesque reservoir then brutally 'executed' over money he was owed, a murder trial jury was told.

Umair Waseem, 22, was offered £7,000 to withdraw a complaint he made to police after being attacked by four hammer-wielding men in Bolton in the months leading up to his murder, Manchester Crown Court was told.

The jury was told he did withdraw the complaint, but never received the payment.

Andrew Menary QC, prosecuting, said the cash became a 'burning grievance' to Mr Waseem.

And, in February last year, the court heard Mr Waseem, from Fern Street in Deane, Bolton, was found beaten to death near Anglezarke Reservoir, on Bolton's border with Chorley.

His arms were tied behind his back and his legs bound with tape. The jury heard that he was wearing two layers of clothing and disposable plastic gloves.

Mr Menary said he may have been 'planning with others' to carry out a crime, possibly a robbery.
He said of the clothing: “It might be the case that he was protecting himself from the risk of DNA or from leaving gunshot particles on his skin.”

But another theory put to the jury was that Mr Waseem was 'double-crossed' or 'betrayed by his potential partners' in a bid to avoid paying him.

Mr Menary said it could be that the men pretended that they were planning a crime simply to lure him to a 'location where he could be killed'.

Blunt object

Mr Waseem suffered 'massive head injuries' after being struck about the face and head with a 'heavy blunt object', the jury heard.

Faisal Aslam, 24, of Clarendon Road, Whalley Range, Asim Khan, 27, of Devon Street, Farnworth, Bolton, and Aroon Asad, 21, of Vaughan Road, Chorlton, all deny murder.

Asim Khan, the court heard, 'brokered' the deal to pay off Mr Waseem in return for him retracting his earlier statement to police.

Mr Menary said Aslam was present in the car park at the time of Mr Waseem's death.

He added: “We do not say that the two other defendants were present in the car park, but both were involved in the preparation of Umair's execution and the third Aroon Asad was actively involved with Faisal Aslam in attempts to dispose of potentially incriminating items after the event.” The court heard all three each played a part in a 'joint enterprise'.

The court heard that despite owning a BMW, which was found near the car park, Mr Waseem hired a Vauxhall Vectra then drove to meet his girlfriend on the night that he died.

Mr Menary added: “He told her that he was going away for a few days either to London or Birmingham. He talked about obtaining £500,000 and by a gesture with his hand intimated that a firearm might be involved.”

The court was told that Mr Waseem also told his family he was travelling to Dover.

Mr Menary added: “Plainly something was afoot. Whatever it was, it was potentially serious criminal activity and the Vauxhall Vectra was plainly hired with this enterprise in mind. However, whether there ever was a real plan to commit a serious offence that night is, we suggest, unlikely. Rather, it is probable that Asim Khan suggested this as a pretence as a means of avoiding paying money to the deceased and luring him to the location where he could be killed.

“And at the time Umair was talking to his girlfriend on the Sunday afternoon he had clearly taken the bait.”

Proceeding