How a dashcam clue cracked drugs ambush case

When a 17-year-old boy was found left for dead under a railway bridge with traumatic brain injuries, police originally thought he was the victim of a hit-and-run.

Medical examinations later found he had no other injuries - instead pointing towards an attack. The boy survived but had life-changing injuries.

Now a detective who led the investigation into the attack in Luton in June 2022 has told a documentary that getting the key breakthrough was like "scoring a goal in the Premier League".

Former Det Sgt Tom Hamm, who worked for Bedfordshire Police, told the BBC: "It is not unprofessional to take joy from having a hit."

The Channel 4 show 24 Hours in Police Custody reveals how dashcam footage from a Domino's Pizza delivery vehicle captured a number plate and helped to unlock the investigation.

Hamm said the case was linked to the county line drugs trade, where drugs are moved between different parts of the country, often by vulnerable people.

He said the nature of the offending helped to create "a wall of silence".

"Nobody will speak to you, no-one will tell you anything."

Mohammed Hamid, previously from Luton, was found to be the getaway driver and sentenced to more than 10 years in prison in February.

But four years on, four people seen chasing after the victim with baseball bats have still not been found, which Hamm described as one of his "biggest regrets".

The former detective found the case particularly upsetting as the teenage victim was a twin and Hamm has twins of a similar age.

He revealed how he had found talking to the victim, who has not been named, "massively inspiring" and "phenomenal".

"He has not looked back. He has not been an angry young man with it," he said.

"He also wants to engage and educate himself so that he can help others who have also had traumatic brain injuries."

Hamm left policing in March after more than 22 years and now works in airport security.

The first episode of the double bill, called The Ambush, showed CCTV footage of the victim briefly getting into a car before getting out and being chased.

Hamid, now 51, was identified as the driver of the vehicle that carried the assailants and convicted of conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm (GBH) with intent.

He was jailed for 10 years and nine months in prison, where he was already serving a sentence for a separate matter.

A woman from Bedford was also charged with conspiracy to commit GBH but was found not guilty.

Hamm hopes exposure from the documentary could lead to someone coming forward to help with information that leads to further convictions.

"If you want a safe community, then it's all our responsibility within that community to help the police, to keep our communities safe," he said.

• Episode two of 24 Hours in Police Custody: The Ambush will be shown on Channel 4 at 21:00 BST on Sunday 6 September.

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