A £20,000 bounty has been offered in a bid to persuade criminal gangsters believed to be helping chemical attack fugitive Abdul Ezedi evade capture, to tell police where he is hiding.
The National Crime Agency has been called in to help the manhunt after detectives received information that organised crime groups may be helping Britain’s most wanted man lie low.
The convicted sex offender, 35, remains at large after 12 people were doused with what police yesterday said was a ““very strong concentrated corrosive” – either liquid sodium hydroxide or liquid sodium carbonate.
Police believe the former refugee drove 280 miles from his Newcastle home to carry out a “targeted attack” on a mother and her two young children who were being housed at an emergency hotel accommodation in Clapham, south London.
The woman, aged 31, suffered “life-changing” injuries after the chemical was thrown in her face and remains sedated and “seriously poorly” in hospital. Her daughters, aged three and eight, also remain in hospital but their injuries are less severe – even though the youngest was seen being picked up and hurled to the ground during the horror attack at 7.30pm last Wednesday.
Meanwhile a good Samaritan who rushed to the family’s aid suffered “burns to both eyeballs” during the incident.
Afghan-born Ezedi, who suffered severe burn injuries to the side of his face, fled on foot after crashing his car and despite police spotting him on CCTV later that evening, has not been traced.
He arrived in the UK in a lorry in 2016 and failed in two asylum claims but then claimed to have converted to Christianity and was accepted on his third attempt with a priest providing the crucial character witness.
Ezedi pleaded guilty to one charge of sexual assault and one of exposure before he was granted asylum, the Crown Prosecution Service has confirmed.
He was sentenced at Newcastle Crown Court on January 9, 2018, to a nine-week jail term suspended for two years for the sexual assault.
For the exposure he was given 36 weeks’ imprisonment to be served consecutively, which was also suspended for two years.
Yesterday announcing their £20,000 reward for information leading to his arrest, Met Commander Jon Savell said: ““I am hugely grateful to the public for the significant number of calls that we have received.
“Your help is critical. A reward of up to £20,000 is now available for information leading to his arrest.
“I must warn anyone who is helping Ezedi to evade capture – if you are harbouring or assisting him then you will be arrested.
“Our inquiry line is staffed 24/7 by specialist detectives who are progressing enquiries around-the-clock.
“If you know where he is or have information that may assist, call them now.”
The Met also released new information about Ezedi’s movements following the attack and revealed their last confirmed sighting of him is now at 9:33pm hrs on Wednesday evening, when he exited Tower Hill Underground station.
He had changed trains at Victoria, where he arrived on the Victoria Line at 9:10pm and departed on the eastbound District Line at 9:16pm.
The manhunt to find Ezedi is being led by the Met’s Specialist Crime Command, working in conjunction with a broad range of specialist departments and local policing teams.
In addition, the Met is working with the Home Office, UK Border Force, UK Visas and Immigration, the National Crime Agency, British Transport Police and several other police forces, including Northumbria Police in the north east.
Details of Ezedi have been circulated to all UK police forces and ports.
In an appeal directly to Abdul Ezedi, Darius Nasimi, of the charity the Afghanistan & Central Asian Association said: “Abdul, I am speaking directly to you. I want you to go straight to a police station immediately.
“You have a serious injury that needs to be seen to but, more importantly, you must do the right thing and hand yourself in to police. This has gone on for long enough.
“You can contact the charity if you wish and we can speak to you, and work together so that you can help the police with their enquiries.”
Anyone with information about Abdul Ezedi is asked to call 020 7175 2784 or for an immediate sighting dial 999.
To remain anonymous, please contact the independent charity Crimestoppers