Oldham man involved in Leicester explosion sentenced to 38 years

Date published: 18 January 2019


An Oldham man who was involved in an explosion at a shop in Leicester, which killed five people including his own girlfriend, has been told he will spend the next 38 years behind bars.

Arkan Ali, 38, from Drake Close, has been handed a life sentence with a minimum term of 38 years at Leicester Crown Court.

He was sentenced along with Aram Kurd, of no fixed abode, and Hawkar Hassan, from Leicester, on Friday.

Kurd has also been given a life sentence with a minimum term of 38 years, while Hassan has a minimum term of 33 years.

None showed any reaction as the sentence was delivered.

All three were found guilty of murdering five people and conspiracy to commit fraud at their trial in December.

Their trial heard that the explosion had been planned in the hope of claiming a £300,000 insurance pay out.

The men were arrested after a Polish supermarket and two-storey flat were destroyed in an explosion on Sunday 25 February.

The shop and flat were destroyed in the blast.
The shop and flat were destroyed in the blast.

Four of those killed were in the flat when the explosion happened.

They have been named as Shane Ragoobeer, 18, his brother Sean, 17, Shane's girlfriend Leah Beth Reek, 18, and the brothers' mother, Mary Ragoobeer, 46.

22-year-old Viktorija Ljevleva, the girlfriend of Ali who had reportedly been living in Oldham, was in the shop at the time of the blast.

The men used 45 litres of petrol, with BBQ fuel and white spirit mixed together to cause an intense blaze.

Ali and Miss Ljevleva were involved in the early stages and were with Hassan when the fuel was bought. 

Passing his sentence, High Court Judge, Mr Justice Holgate, said Ali and Kurd were "highly manipulative and cunning individuals" after they spread petrol around knowing the building was occupied.

He rejected the suggestion that the intention was to just burn the shop - and said the men intended to destroy the building and the flat above as well.

Hassan's role in the crime was as the driver.

The shop and flat were destroyed in the blast.
The shop and flat were destroyed in the blast.

Ali and Kurd were in contact by phone throughout the attack - and Kurd left the premises at the back by jumping over a wall.

They did not try to contact Miss Ljevleva after the blast, which caused a pancake collapse of the building.

The judge told the defendants he was not going to impose a "whole life" order with the life sentences, but the planning that went into the attack meant they should serve more than 30 years behind bars.

He added that the Ragoobeer family unit was "destroyed" and there was an "exceptionally high level of harm".

Mr Justice Holgate also said that none of the defendants had shown "the slightest remorse" and they had tried to "save their own skins" by repeatedly lying in and out of court.