These are the criminals who thought they could travel to an entirely different region of the world to escape justice. It’s perhaps not a surprise that sometimes after committing a serious offence, the first thing on a crook’s mind will be to get as far away as possible to avoid being caught.
In recent cases, criminals have fled to destinations as far as Dubai in the Middle East after being arrested, convicted or involved in serious crimes. However, they are often only prolonging their inevitable jail sentences.
We have rounded up some of the recent cases we’ve covered where criminals have skipped the country to travel to Dubai. They include a notorious fugitive and someone who continued to break the law after travelling abroad.
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Zahid Khan
Notorious Birmingham fugitive Zahid Khan announced earlier this year that he is ‘coming back to face the music’ after hiding out for four years in Dubai. The convicted fraudster has previously taunted cops online after fleeing the UK before being sentenced to ten years in jail.
But in a Facebook Live interview, he claimed he had lodged an appeal against the conviction at the High Court. The former Moseley-based fraudster said of his supposed appeal: “If the outcome is in my favour I will come back. If the outcome is not in my favour I will still come back and do my time. I’ll have to do seven years.
“I’m not gonna leave my family… I was born in the UK, that’s my home. I will come back, face the music, one way or another.”
Ian Fieldhouse
Ian Fieldhouse not only flew to Dubai after he was arrested for trying to drag a woman from her car in Wolverhampton, but continued to break the law. It was said was detained after driving on a tram lane in the United Arab Emirates city.
Prior to that, he had tried to pull a heavily pregnant woman from her vehicle after posing as a police officer. Fieldhouse, in his 30s, flashed the lights of his van at the victim who he then pursued to a stop in Wolverhampton.
He claimed he was an off-duty officer and that she had been speeding before trying to rip her from her vehicle. She sped off in such terror her driver’s side door was still flung open.
The real police then hunted down Fieldhouse, of Hurstbourne Crescent, Wolverhampton, who doubled speed limits, ran a red light and drove towards oncoming traffic in his escape before he unsuccessfully tried to make a dash for it. He admitted dangerous driving and assault by beating. Fieldhouse was sentenced to 15 months. Full story here.
Keanu Bedward
A gunman who fled to Dubai after shooting a man dead on a Birmingham street was convicted of murder and later jailed in 2019. Keanu Bedward dumped the revolver in a reservoir after he shot Remal Hunt in the chest in Church Road, Erdington, on April 18 during the same year.
Bedward, 24, of Norfolk Road, Erdington, was convicted of murder by a jury at Birmingham Crown Court. Both men had been in cars and after the shooting Bedward sped off in a Volkswagen Golf.
Paramedics went to the scene but Mr Hunt was pronounced dead shortly afterwards. Police later found the Golf parked in Stonechat Drive. It had a laundry bag bearing the initials KB in the boot and a balaclava and gloves.
Bedward was captured on CCTV walking away from the car with a female and later that day she bought a one-way ticket to Dubai from Manchester Airport. The defendant got on the flight and stayed there for ten days but was arrested on his return to the UK.
He was later jailed for life and will serve at least 30 years.
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