The 18-year-old allegedly travelled from Leeds to London with a kitchen knife four years after arriving in the UK on a small boat.
Tajzai has denied murder and knife possession in a public place (Image: Getty)
A small boat migrant travelled almost 200 miles to London to stab a shop worker to death, a court has heard. Afghan national Suliaman Tajzai, 18, allegedly made the journey from Leeds to murder Farmanullah Sherzad, 26, on March 27.
Locals reportedly heard chaos as the 18-year-old chased Mr Sherzad through the Peabody Estate in Westminster, before police found the 26-year-old in a pool of blood with a kitchen knife in his chest. Tajzai arrived in Britain over four years ago after crossing from France in an inflatable boat, the Old Bailey was told.
Two years after illegally entering the UK, he was granted temporary leave to remain until January 2029, according to the Daily Mail. Lisa Wilding KC, prosecuting, said Tajzai’s actions leading up to Mr Sherzad’s murder were “neither a coincidence or spontaneous”.
The 18-year-old allegedly chased a 26-year-old through an estate in Westminster (Image: Getty)
Ms Wilding said the migrant had travelled to the capital on three prior occasions to determine where Mr Sherzad lived and worked, and purchased the knife used in the attack before setting out.
“He travelled to London armed with that knife, waited for his target outside his home and then confronted him in a sustained and brutal attack that led to Mr Sherzad’s immediate death,” she added.
The court heard that Tajzai and his cousin Zakirullah Tarakhail had tied Mr Sherzad up after luring him to their home five months earlier when it emerged he had been messaging Mr Tarakhail’s wife, Safa.
Police opened then later dropped a case against Mr Sherzad for stalking Safa, but he insisted the relationship had been reciprocal.
Ms Wilding said Tajzai and Mr Tarakhail did not stop “searching out” Mr Sherzad, and suggested that for the men the issue “was not over”.
“What, you may ask, could have brought Sulaiman Tajzai and his cousin to a shop in south London?” she asked jurors.
“And what would make them wait there for so long? Why did the defendant hire a bike and follow the man who had been tied up in his cousin’s house? Anger? Revenge? Curiosity? Whatever the reason, it persisted.”
Tajzai has denied charges of murder and knife possession in a public place. The trial continues.