Three men have gone on trial charged with the murder of Abdifatah “Abdi” Sheikhey who was shot dead in Ilford in March.

The fatal shooting of a 19-year-old in Ilford Lane was allegedly a “revenge” attack following a knife fight in a chicken shop, a court heard today.

On March 21 this year, Abdi was gunned down in a hired black Mercedes E250, on Woodlands Road, in Ilford, at 10.03pm.

At the Old Bailey today, the jury heard that the gunman emerged from a white BMW X4- which pulled alongside Abdi - while he was sat in the passenger seat of the stationary car.

He then went up to the side window and fired seven shots using a gun, which appeared to be a self-loading pistol.

At the post mortem, an X-ray indicated that Abdi had been shot five times and two bullets had remained in his body.

The other two men in the car, Arif Miah, who had hired the car and Guhel Khan, who was sitting in the rear passenger seat, escaped without injury.

Today Sami Omar, 21, and Suleman Mohamed, 20, both of Kingston Road, Ilford, as well as Jordi Kibusi, 20, of Wisteria Close, Ilford went on trial for murder, which they all deny.

The jury heard that Abdi, a former Wanstead High pupil was blasted in the chest five times at point blank range.

Opening the prosecution’s case Anthony Orchard QC said that the background to all that went on “appears to be drug dealing.”

The jury were told that on March 20 this year, Sami Omar and two men, whose identities are unknown, went to the Chester Chicken Shop on Ilford Lane, around 9.30pm.

After ordering food, they moved to the side of the takeaway to wait to collect it.

On restaurant CCTV shown to the jury, Sami Omar can be seen answering a seven second phone call.

The court heard that this phone call was made by fellow defendant Suleman Mohamed, 20.

Immediately after the call, the trio of men leave the chicken shop without collecting the food they had ordered.

In a video shown to the jury, as the men reached the pavement outside the takeaway, Abdi, who was shot the following day, attacked Sami Omar and his group.

As Sami retreats back inside the takeaway with one of the men, they were followed by Abdi and another man, Mr Orchard told the court.

He added that all four men were brandishing knives.

In the video, Abdi appears to swing his knife at Sami Omar, who denies the charge of murder, whilst a third friend of Abdi’s stands in the doorway brandishing a brick.

Chairs were thrown by both groups before Abdi and the two men with him left the shop.

The jury were told that outside the chicken shop, Omar allegedly raised his knife and pointed it at Abdi before chasing him towards Howard Road.

Redbridge Police later attended the takeaway that night and recovered the CCTV footage.

In court today, Mr Orchard said the white BMW X4 had been hired by Jordi Kibusi, and that he was driving on the night of the shooting.

He added said the defendant’s phones, CCTV and a tracker on the BMW place all three defendants using the BMW at the time of the shooting.

He said: “The prosecution is not able to say who fired the shot that killed Abdifatah Sheikhey.

“What we do say is that those in the car at the time of the shooting were each involved in it.

“Each may have had a different role. One may have been driver, one the gunman, the third being there to encourage and assist and to act as the lookout.”

He added: “They were in it together.”

All three deny the charges and the trial continues.