Britain’s FBI have been brought in to help with the manhunt for suspected chemical attacker Abdul Ezedi as it was claimed last night he was in a relationship with the mother who was badly injured.
Specialist officers from the National Crime Agency have been drafted in to hunt down Afghan born Ezedi, who is described as having very “significant injuries to the right side of his face”.
The Met Police continued to co-ordinate the search operation which entered its fourth day yesterday after the woman, 31, and her two children were attacked with what is believed to be a corrosive substance in Clapham, south London at 7.25pm on Wednesday.
A Met Police spokesman said: “The investigation team has received dozens of calls and is working with a large number of police services and other agencies.
“These include British Transport Police, Northumbria Police, the National Crime Agency and Transport for London.”
Yesterday, an unnamed relative of Ezedi said: “His injury is very bad and he needs medical attention. I will bring him in by myself if I have to.”
His brother Hassan Ezedi also said he would hand him in if he knew where he was.
The force has also released video footage of a search of one of three properties in Newcastle, where Ezedi had been living on Thursday (February 1) where empty containers with corrosive warnings on the labels were recovered and close up images of the bottles. Searches took place at two east London addresses the same day.
The spokesman added: “Forensic tests are currently ongoing to see if the containers held the substance used in the attack.”
Commander Jon Savell said: “I want to thank everyone who has contacted police to share what they know.
“We have received dozens of calls with information, including possible sightings, and every single piece of information has been recorded. I can assure the public that my colleagues and I are fully committed to using every available tool and tactic for as long as it takes to find Abdul Ezedi.
“I am today urging the public to remain vigilant and to contact police immediately if they may have seen Ezedi or have information about him. I would also like to reiterate that if you see Ezedi, you should call 999 immediately. He should not be approached.”
The woman injured in the attack remains in a critical but stable condition in hospital having suffered what are likely to be life-changing injuries. The injuries to her daughters, aged three and eight, are “not likely to be life-changing”.
Questions remain over how he was granted asylum in the UK after two failed attempts and able to stay in the country despite being convicted of a sex offence after he claimed to have converted to Christianity, which would have put him at risk from the Taliban.
He is thought to have arrived in the UK from Afghanistan in the back of a lorry in 2016. He was handed a suspended sentence at Newcastle Crown Court on January 9 2018 after pleading guilty to one charge of sexual assault and one of exposure.
The Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle said in a statement it had found nothing to suggest he had been received into the Catholic faith, but checks were continuing.
However, it confirmed that Ezedi “visited our diocesan Justice and Peace Refugee Project, a charitable venture which assists a wide range of people who come to us in need”.
The Church of England said it is currently not aware of any links to Ezedi and its churches. The Home Office does not collate data on UK appeals on grounds of religious persecution. But the problem of bogus conversions by Asylum seekers has been raised across Europe.
The Christian charity Open Doors Germany in a 2019 survey of 179 churches representing 6,516 converts found pastors and priests considered 88 percent of conveerts as trustworthy or credible. Yet only 37.6 % of the converts were granted protection by German officials.
Ezedi’s case has echoes of Iraqi-born Emad Al Swealmeen, 32, who died after his homemade bomb detonated in a taxi outside Liverpool Women’s Hospital in 2021.
He also claimed to be a Christian convert in 2015 when all his asylum appeal rights were exhausted. Ezedi is believed to have driven from Newcastle in the early hours of Wednesday. A man tried to drive from the scene, crashing into a stationary vehicle before fleeing on foot.
Police released a CCTV image of Ezedi in Tesco on the Caledonian Road buying a bottle of water at At 8.42pm. He was last seen at King’s Cross Underground Station at 9pm where he boarded a Victoria Line train travelling southbound.
