Drugs kingpin tortured and murdered uncle

Victim's body was left in bank vault

- BY PAUL BRITTON

A MAN from Rochdale was jailed as part of a case involving the brutal kidnapping, torture and murder of a bus driver by his crime boss nephew, it has been revealed.

Tahir Syed - described by police as an 'international drug trafficker' - fled the country after murdering his uncle Asghar Badshah, 39.

Mr Badshah's body was found in a disused vault inside a former bank in December 2019.

A post-mortem examination found he had been struck all over his body with a blunt object at least 48 times in what police called a 'brutal and sustained attack' at the hands of Syed.

Syed, now 42, went on the run after the murder, but was arrested in Turkey in November 2021 and extradited back to the UK in April 2024.

At Leeds Crown Court earlier this month, he was jailed for life by a judge who imposed a minimum tariff of 34 years and 154 days.

Police said 'numerous' trials have taken place over the last five-and-a-half years, with reporting restrictions in place.

But with Syed's sentencing hearing now over, full details can be revealed for the first time.