Drug dealer 'eliminated' rival

Murat Over was convicted of murder

A heroin dealer who "eliminated" a drug rival in a turf war between Turkish crime gangs has been jailed for life at the Old Bailey.

Police informant Mehmet Adiguzel, 37, of Waltham Abbey, Essex, was shot six times by a masked gunman as he sat in a traffic jam in east London.

Murat Over was convicted of murder, but Burhani Canpolat, 36, Argyle Passage, High Road, Tottenham, was cleared.

Both had denied murder.

The shooting has properly been described as an execution

Judge Gerald Gordon

On Tuesday Over, of no fixed abode, was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of Mr Adiguzel on 25 May, 2000.

The court heard how Mr Adiguzel, described as a gambler "down on his luck", was killed as he sat in a traffic jam in Brooke Road, Clapton, east London.

Masked gunman

Witnesses saw a masked gunman run over to his car before repeatedly shooting him at point blank range.

Jurors have heard that prior to his death Mr Adiguzel had been involved in drug dealing.

He was also a registered police informant who had suffered heavy financial losses from his gambling habit.

The court was told that Over admitted shooting a man three weeks after the killing during a meal with girlfriend Arzu Foster at her Kentish Town home.

In a statement Mrs Foster said she and her mother were sitting down to eat with Over when he confessed to an execution.

No emotion

The court heard how Over is currently serving a 13-year sentence for conspiracy to supply heroin.

He also had previous convictions for intimidating a witness who was due to testify against him and common assault in 1995.

Over showed no emotion as Judge Gerald Gordon told him: "The shooting has properly been described as an execution.

"This was the elimination of a rival drug dealer."