LONDON: A suspect, who rented the car that was driven to former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s chief of staff Shahzad Akbar’s Cambridge home to attack him, has been charged, joining seven other accused in the plot to attack Major (retd) Adil Raja and Akbar around Christmas last year.
Dylan Martin, 33, appeared at the Old Bailey accused of taking part in a plot to burn down Akbar’s house and firing bullets. Martin has been charged with possession of a firearm and two counts of conspiracy to commit arson or reckless endangerment of life.
The second person already charged in connection with the attack on Akbar’s home is Doneto Brammer, 21, from Wood Green, north London. It is assumed that he was the individual with the lit rag. The identity of the gunman, the third person involved in the New Year’s Eve attack, is unknown and may be at large.
The charges against Martin relate to an incident last New Year’s Eve when a car was driven to the Cambridge home of Akbar, a former cabinet member under former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan’s imprisonment. Martin, who allegedly rented the car used in the plot, was arrested on January 5.
The police have not revealed it yet, but Geographic news has learned from credible sources that at least three shots were fired inside Akbar’s premises, piercing the front window of the main entrance.
The person who fired the bullets has been described as a thin white man who fired bullets and then used the butt of his gun to break the window from which they threw the carpet inside to set the house on fire. Akbar had left the house just five minutes ago.
Judge Cheema-Grubb said Martin’s case would be joined with that of Brammer, who has been charged with similar offences. The couple face an interim trial at Birmingham Crown Court starting on June 6 next year. The superior judge set a plea hearing for Martin on July 17 and remanded him into custody.
The other seven suspects were charged about two months ago. They are Asif Afsar, Liam McGarry, Mark Regan, Louis Regan, Karl Blackbird and Clark McAulay.
Police say Raja’s house was attacked on December 24, 2025 in Chesham, and Akbar’s house was attacked on December 24, December 31, 2025 and January 10, 2026.
Police say they have no idea the motivation behind these attacks. The investigation is ongoing. The trial is scheduled for a year from now at Birmingham Crown Court. The prosecution has described these attacks as targeted attacks.
