'Cowardly' teenager involved in fatal stabbing of drug dealer before fleeing to the Middle East jailed
DNA found on a cigarette butt discarded at the scene helped officers link the teenager to the crime
A teenager who fled to Dubai and Egypt after being involved in the robbing then fatal stabbing of a young Dad in the heart has been jailed for eight years.
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Ali Abdul Basit, 19, was found guilty of manslaughter and robbery at the Old Bailey after he was involved in the ambush and killing of Michael Afonso Peixoto in south London before going on the run for two years.
Basit, then aged 17, was part of a gang of robbers who chased, cornered and fatally stabbed Peixoto, a 27-year-old drug dealer, in Thornton Heath on December 19, 2023.
The teenager then fled the country, travelling to Dubai, Egypt and Pakistan before returning to the UK on May 3 last year when he was arrested.
Officers managed to link the teenager to the crime by matching the DNA from an asthma inhaler retrieved from his home to DNA found on a cigarette butt discarded at the scene.
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The five robbers, wearing face masks, had travelled to the scene in a stolen BMW and confronted the victim, who had gone there with a female friend in a Vauxhall Grandland.
Mr Peixoto was chased, cornered and fatally stabbed while his friend was forced out of the car at knifepoint.
Beforehand, Basit had helped the getaway driver by arranging for false number plates to go on the stolen BMW.
Sentencing, Judge Rosa Dean condemned the “shocking level of violence” used by the gang who were intent on taking Mr Peixoto’s car and finding drugs in a “planned robbery”.
Judge Dean said: “Your victim was drawn into a trap in Mayfield Crescent.
“He thought he was going to be selling drugs.
“As soon as he got out of the car you, all wearing face masks, swarmed over to the car.
“The victim was unarmed and he ran for it but was chased down.”
Basit got into the Vauxhall and held out a knife to Mr Peixoto's female friend, who was forced out of the car, she said.
The judge went on: “Michael had been cornered and killed in a nearby driveway.
“He had a number of stab wounds including one directly into the heart.”
She dismissed the defendant’s account to jurors in his trial as “ridiculous”, saying he had made the foolish mistake of trying to be clever.
Three other robbers were tried and sentenced in 2024, with Basit only returning to the UK afterwards.
Judge Dean told him: “Your cowardly decision to flee meant Michael’s family had to endure a second trial.”
Following the earlier trial, Zak Baako, 30, from Croydon, south London, was found guilty of murder and jailed for life with a minimum term of 28 years.
John Budal, 22, from Thornton Heath, was found guilty of manslaughter and robbery and Omari Peat, 25 of Mitcham, was found guilty of robbery.
A fifth male remains at large who Basit has refused to identify, telling jurors in his trial he was not a “snitch”.
In a victim impact statement read to the court, niece Jessica described Mr Peixoto as a “bubbly and funny person”, “larger than life” and a father to “the most amazing boy”.
She said the family had endured her uncle being “reduced to a drug dealer”, saying he was “so much more than that”.“He was larger than life, full of joy and humour.
He had hopes, dreams and a future that you stole from him, from us,” she told the defendant.
Sister Maria told Basit in her statement: “We lost a person who was kind and full of life. I hope you find forgiveness but Michael’s family will never forgive you.”
Detective Inspector Martin Thorpe, from Scotland Yard, said: “After Michael’s violent murder, Basit immediately left the country and travelled to Dubai via Venice then Egypt, eventually arriving in Pakistan where he remained for months.“
Basit returned to the UK after the conviction of three other men in connection with Michael’s death, possibly on the false pretence that he has got away with his actions.
“What Basit didn’t know is that our officers had compiled an extensive amount of evidence, including phone data which linked him to the other three convicted men at the time of the assault.
“After he was arrested, our officers were able to get his DNA from an asthma inhaler at his house which matched DNA found on a cigarette butt at the scene.
“This case emphasises the Met’s persistent pursual for justice in making sure that anyone who carries out such violent actions is held accountable.”