The Trumpet Newspaper Issue 549 (July 14 - 27 2021)

News
JULY 14 - 27 2021 TheTrumpet Page3
Convicted for brutal murder of two men
Two men have been found guilty
of murder after two friends were
lured to a north London street
and brutally attacked.
33-year-old Kaziku Tuwisana of no
fixed address and 43-year-old Besnik
Berisha of Martock Gardens, N11 were
found guilty of the murders of 30-yearold
Arber Fesko and 36-year-old
Shkelqim Paja following a trial at the
Old Bailey.
The court heard how Shkelqim Paja
and Besnik Berisha had known each
other for around three years prior to the
murders. In the last year, their friendship
had become strained – this is believed to
have been over a sum of money –
around £15,000 - that Berisha owed to
Shkelqim.
On 18 December 2019, Shkelqim
raised concerns that Berisha was
planning something behind his back
which worried him. However, the next
day (19 December) Berisha contacted
him again stating that he was ready to
pay back the money owed in full.
That evening, Shkelqim went to
Courtlands Avenue, NW7, close to
where he lived, in the company of
family friend Arber Fesko.
Berisha – who owned a distinctive
white Peugeot van – had met Tuwisana
that afternoon in Stratford. From there
they had travelled to the Highbury area
of north London where they entered
several hardware shops and purchased
items such as lighter fluid, disposable
gloves and cloths.
Shortly after 19:00hrs, CCTV
captured the van outside Highbury and
Islington station. From there the van
travelled to Courtlands Avenue, NW7.
Just after 20:00hrs, two separate
witnesses making their way along
Courtlands Avenue reported seeing a
Besnik Berisha
group of men who appeared to be
attacking another man. Further along the
street, a second man was seen collapsed.
Police were called but on arrival no
people could be found; however –
blood, later found to be Shkelqim’s, was
discovered along with both his, and
Arber’s mobile phones. Items including
cable ties, a knife and an empty knife
sheath were also discovered; the knife
was later forensically linked to
Tuwisana and the sheath to Berisha.
Officers also identified an unopened
packet of disposable gloves, identical to
the ones purchased by Berisha and
Tuwisana just hours earlier.
Shortly after being called to the
scene of the attack, police received a call
from the London Gateway Services on
the M1. Tuwisana had gone into a venue
there to report he had been attacked; he
was suffering a stab wound to the arm.
Officers arrived and Tuwisana claimed
to have tried to intervene in a fight and
had himself been attacked and bundled
into a black Mercedes car before being
Kaziku Tuwisana
dumped at the services. The car
remained abandoned outside. When
officers searched it they found the body
of Arber Fesko in the boot who had been
stabbed multiple times; they also found
cable ties and a crowbar. On searching
Tuwisana, he was found to be in
possession of a stun gun. Further checks
established that the car belong to
Shkelqim Paja. Tuwisana was taken to
hospital for treatment and subsequently
arrested.
The body of Shkelqim Paja was
found the following day, dumped in a
hedgerow in Radlett, Hertfordshire. He
had also been stabbed multiple times.
Items including a baseball cap and cable
ties were also found.
CCTV analysis also showed the
white Peugeot van belonging to Berisha
being driven to and from the deposition
site. Berisha was arrested on 23
December 2019 but claimed that he had
sold his van on the day prior to the
murders. Checks with the DVLA
revealed a transfer document had been
received in relation to the van, but not
until 23 December. The person and
address listed on the transfer was visited
by police but they had no knowledge of
the van.
The vehicle itself was found
abandoned in Barnet on 30 December;
when officers checked CCTV from the
area, they established it had been
dumped at the location on 20 December.
Inside the back of the van, Shkelqim’s
blood was found confirming that his
body had been transported in the
vehicle. Further analysis showed blood
belonging to Arber on the glove box in
the front of the van, revealing someone
with his blood on their hands had
touched this area.
Officers also recovered a knife from
the van which fitted the sheath
recovered at the scene of the murders in
Courtlands Avenue.
Detective Sergeant Pete Walker,
from the Met’s Specialist Crime
Command, said: “Throughout this
investigation, the two defendants have
refused to say why they carried out this
brutal attack on Shkelqim Paja and
Arber Fesko. However, the weight of
evidence my team has gathered has
spoken for itself and provided
irrefutable evidence that both of these
men were involved in carrying out two
brutal murders.
“This has been a challenging
investigation but the diligence of the
evidence gathering and tenacity of the
officers involved has ensured Berisha
and Tuwisana have been held to account
for their actions.
“Nothing will ever bring Shkelqim
and Arber back, but I can only hope that
these convictions can bring some sense
of justice to their families.”
Tax credit claimants urged to renew ahead
of July 31 deadline
Continued from Page 1<
· find out how much they have earned
for the year.
Customers do not need to report any
temporary falls in their working hours
as a result of coronavirus. They will be
treated as if they are working their
normal hours for up to eight weeks after
the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme
closes. Any self-employed individuals,
who have claimed a Self-Employment
Income Support Scheme grant, will
need to declare the grant payments.
Search ‘working out your income for tax
credit/self-employment’ on GOV.UK.
Myrtle Lloyd, HMRC’s Director
General for Customer Services, said:
“We know how important tax credits are
to our customers, so we’ve made it
quicker and easier to renew claims
online. There’s no need to wait for the
31 July deadline – do it now by
searching ‘tax credits’ on GOV.UK.”
If there is a change in a customer’s
circumstances that could affect their tax
credits claims, they must report the
changes to . These include changes to:
· living arrangements
· childcare
· working hours, or
· income (increase or decrease).
Post Office card accounts will close
on 30 November 2021. HMRC is
reminding any tax credits and Child
Benefit customers who use this account
to receive their payments that they will
need to notify HMRC of their new bank
account details. HMRC is encouraging
customers to act now so they do not
miss any payments once their Post
Office account closes. To find out how
to open a bank account, visit .
HMRC is urging customers to be
careful if they are contacted out of the
blue by someone asking for money or
personal information. There are a lot of
scams around where fraudsters are
calling, texting or emailing customers
claiming to be from HMRC. If in doubt,
customers are advised not to reply
directly to anything suspicious, but to
contact HMRC straight away – search
GOV.UK for ‘HMRC scams’ for more
information.