Two Afghan men living in the UK have been arrested for plotting to kill the daughter of one of the suspects, who has allegedly renounced Islam and ventured into the porn industry.
The National Crime Agency identified the two men as Mohammed Patman, 54, and Darya Khan Safi, 49, saying they were taken into custody on 4 September.
“The pair were wanted by the Slovakian authorities for conspiring to murder the 25-year-old woman, who was living in Austria and working in Slovakia at a company she ran with her husband,” the agency said in a statement.
According to The Daily Mail, the woman moved to Slovakia in 2017 after meeting her future husband and converting to Judaism. The couple is thought to have run an adult film business, sometimes appearing in the scenes themselves.
UK authorities were alerted to the potential murder plot by the Slovaks and placed Patman and Safi under surveillance. The suspects were found to have driven to Austria and Slovakia multiple times, apparently to keep an eye on the would-be victim.
Investigators from the NCA’s Armed Operations Unit obtained records of the pair’s phone and internet communications, in which the men allegedly discussed plans to murder the victim.
They are now facing extradition to Slovakia and are expected to appear before a British court on 12 September.
Announcing the arrest, NCA Senior Investigating Officer Matthew Perfect said Patman and Safi “were arrested as a result of some excellent joint working between the NCA and our partners in Slovakia and throughout Europe. Such strong international cooperation is key in allowing us and our partners to pursue the most dangerous criminals across borders.”
The Daily Mail reports that the two men got asylum in the UK after assisting British troops in Afghanistan; Patman is understood to have worked for the Afghan intelligence agency and enjoyed “US security clearance.”
