Hertfordshire’s courts were certainly busy in 2023, and here are 8 criminals from Welwyn Garden City, Hatfield and Potters Bar who were put behind bars last year.
1. Kusai Al-Jundi and Mohamed El-Abboud
Kusai Al-Jundi and Mohamed El-Abboud were jailed for a minimum of 35 years in February for the murder of Potters Bar businesswoman Louise Kam.
El Abboud, 28, of Gallants Farm Road, Barnet, and Al-Jundi, 25, of Wood End Road, were sentenced after killing the 71-year-old on July 26, 2021.
Officers established that over a period of some months, Al-Jundi had planned to deceive her into signing over two properties that she owned, one in Gallants Farm Road, Barnet, and the other in High Road, Willesden.
He convinced her he was wealthy and had financial backers, with Ms Kam seeing this as an opportunity to sell the properties as a fresh start for her and her family.
The pair met her at the Gallants Farm Road address to finalise arrangements. Here, she was strangled with the cord from a hairdryer and her body was dumped in a bin.
The following day, Al-Jundi began to use Ms Kam's mobile phone to send messages to her friends and family pretending that she was alive and well, and that she had gone on holiday. But those who knew her realised that this was a lie and that the messages could not have been written by her.
Later that day, El-Abboud sold Ms Kam’s BMW to an unsuspecting buyer. He bought new clothes with the money and posted a TikTok video of him dancing in the driveway of the Barnet home.
Ms Kam was reported missing on July 27, and her car was recovered by police on July 28 in Edgware, with her body discovered on August 1.
A police investigation established that the mobile phone messages had been sent using the WiFi at Al-Jundi’s restaurant in Willesden, while traces of both men’s DNA were found on a pair of gloves wrapped up with Ms Kam's body.
2. Andrew Oliver
Cuffley's Andrew Oliver was jailed for 23 years in December after attempting to murder his relative for inheritance before leaving her to die.
At around 8pm on Friday, January 20, the 56-year-old visited a relative, aged in her 70s, at her address in Cuffley.
Oliver attacked the victim as she was leaving her house, and she fell to the floor, where he began hitting her head against the concrete ground and repeatedly punching her face.
During the attack, the victim offered Oliver money to make him stop but he refused, saying it was not enough and that he needed her inheritance.
He then left the victim outside in freezing temperatures while he went into her property.
The victim was left fighting for her life for around nine hours, and Oliver would periodically come back and continue assaulting her.
At one point, Oliver came out of the house with what was believed to be an old dish cloth covered in plastic bags wrapped around his hand. He pressed it against the victim’s airways in an attempt to suffocate her, but she managed to fight him off.
He came out of the house again some time later and attempted to choke her with a handbag strap.
Finally, at around 5am, the victim managed to get up and flee to a neighbour’s house for help. Oliver was arrested by police later that morning.
3. Stuart Gray
Former Welwyn Garden City paramedic Stuart Gray was jailed for 24 years in December, after his "grotesque abuse" of a teenage girl.
The 60-year-old, previously of Beehive Lane, was found guilty of rape by a jury, having already pleaded guilty to charges relating to sexual activity with a child, making indecent photographs of a child and voyeurism.
The offences – which were not committed while he was on duty as a paramedic – related to one victim over a ten-year period, between 2010 and 2020.
Gray groomed the vulnerable teenager and convinced her that they were both 'angels' on earth, making her believe the grotesque abuse was his way of 'saving her'.
He also filmed and photographed her committing sexual acts without her consent, and indecent images and videos were found on his computer following his arrest.
In 2021, the victim – now aged in her 20s – bravely reported Gray to police, before he was arrested and suspended from duty. He has since been removed from the paramedics’ professional register.
He must serve two thirds of his sentence before he is considered for parole, and he will also be placed on the Sex Offenders Register for life.
4. Stefan Keleman
"Vile" rapist Stefan Keleman was jailed for six years and nine months in November after an "horrific" attack in Hatfield.
The 46-year-old, of Campion Road in Hatfield, was involved in a brief conversation with a woman in Asda car park on the night of Sunday, June 18.
He then followed the woman into the town centre and he punched her in the back of the head before pinning her to the ground.
He then raped the victim while continuing his attack by hitting, punching and biting her.
"Keleman is a vile individual who thought nothing of raping a stranger he had just briefly met. During the attack he continued assaulting the victim by hitting, punching and biting her," said Detective Constable Jarl Thomason, from the Constabulary’s Sexual Offences Investigation Team.
"This was a horrific ordeal for the victim and I want to pay tribute to her resilience throughout the court case. I hope the result provides some sense of justice."
5. Malik Aziz, Omar Aziz and Samir Mustafa
County lines dealers Malik Aziz, Omar Aziz and Samir Mustafa were jailed in May for exploiting children to sell drugs in Hatfield.
Malik Aziz, 24, of Eastwood Street, Streatham, was sentenced to nine years behind bars after pleading guilty to conspiracy to supply crack cocaine and heroin, and possession of a firearm at Kingston Crown Court on Tuesday.
Omar Aziz, also 24 and of Eastwood Street, was sentenced to three years and two months in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to supply crack cocaine and heroin.
Samir Mustafa, 24, of Stone Street, Reading, was sentenced to two years and three months after pleading guilty to conspiracy to supply crack cocaine and heroin, and driving while disqualified.
On January 18, 2022, officers from Operation Orochi, the Met Police's specialist team dedicated to tackling offenders involved in county lines drugs supply, raided an address in Hatfield.
Inside, they found two boys, aged 14 and 15, who had been reported missing from London. A short while later, detectives arrested twin brothers Omar and Malik Aziz in Streatham.
A phone seized from the pair was found to be the number for a Hatfield drugs line, which had been directing children to supply drugs on their behalf and sending out bulk messages advertising crack cocaine and heroin for sale.
A search of their home was carried out, and officers found a small unloaded Sig Sauer self-loading pistol and eight rounds of ammunition.
6. Mohammad Islam and Mohammed Rahim
Drug dealers Mohammad Islam and Mohammed Rahim, who ran a county lines drug network in Welwyn Garden City, were jailed for a combined total of more than 13 years in May.
Islam, 35, of Cromwell Road, Luton, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply class A drugs (crack cocaine and heroin), and was jailed for seven years.
Rahim, 28, of Trinity Road, Luton, also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply class A drugs (crack cocaine and heroin), and was sentenced to five years and six months in prison.
The two men operated the ‘B’ line in the town between December 2022 and March 2023, bringing in heroin and crack cocaine from Luton.
"The disruption of this line will make a significant impact on drug use and associated crime in the region. It also sends a clear message that drug dealing will not go unpunished and anyone involved will be caught and jailed," said Detective Sergeant Chris Cowell, from Hertfordshire Constabulary’s Operation Mantis team.
7. Louis Okai
Drug dealer Louis Okai, who escaped prison and spent three years on the run, was sent back to jail after being arrested in Welwyn Garden City in November.
The 41-year-old absconded from HMP Hollesley Bay in Suffolk in December 2020, where he was serving a nine-year and three-month sentence for possession with intent to supply class A drugs.
At around 11am on Wednesday, November 1, officers from the proactive Operation Scorpion team stopped the 41-year-old while he was cycling in Ludwick Way in Welwyn Garden City.
A search resulted in the seizure of 62 wraps of crack and 26 wraps of heroin, along with a large quantity of cash.
Okai was arrested, and while he was in custody, it was found that he had provided false details. Officers quickly uncovered his real identity and he was charged with two counts of possession of a class A drug with intent to supply and escaping from lawful custody.
He was handed a four year and two-month sentence, to be served after he finishes the rest of the 21-month sentence that he had been serving before his escape.
8. Callum Castle
Welwyn Garden City paedophile Callum Castle, who abused a 14-year-old girl, was jailed for four years and eight months in November.
The 27-year-old was sentenced for five offences, including engaging in sexual communications with a child, engaging in sexual activity with a child, child abduction, and making indecent images of a child.
Castle was issued with a Child Abduction Warning Notice on March 14 this year, after concerns were raised about his behaviour.
The notice warned him not to have any contact with his victim, but he continued to meet with the girl and assisted in keeping her away from responsible people.
Castle was arrested in May following an investigation into his relationship with the victim, after concerns were raised about contact still taking place between them.
He was bailed with strict conditions not to contact the victim, however the conditions were breached and Castle was re-arrested in June and remanded into custody.
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