Four members of a gang have been jailed for murdering two rappers who were stabbed and shot in a midnight raid. 

Armed with guns and knives, the four men stormed a house on Henley Road, Ilford, and killed gang rivals Saydi Abu Sheikh, 23, and Zakariya Jeilani Mohamed, 31. 

Some 45 shots were fired and Mr Sheikh was described having been “butchered”. 

A third man, Khalid Khalid, was shot through the head but survived, along with two more men who ran or hid.  

Chibuike Ohanweh, 21, of Heath Park Road, Romford; Ayaanle Adan, 20, from East Street, Barking; Mahad Gouled, 22, from Charles Street, Enfield; and Zain Mirza, 21, of Third Avenue, Manor Park, had denied double murder, two charges of attempted murder and perverting the course of justice. 

A jury deliberated for more than 40 hours to find the four men guilty of all the charges.  

The attack is said to have been procured by Mirza in revenge for the killing of his brother in 2019.  

He was in prison for a drugs offence but set about putting a plan into action after being released while being careful to remain at “arm’s length”, jurors were told.  

Prosecutor John Price KC had said: “He was the one who most wanted it done. His motive was revenge.” 

Romford Recorder: Saydi Abu Sheikh Saydi Abu Sheikh (Image: Met Police)

Saydi Abu Sheikh had been stabbed 28 times and shot four times while Zakariya Jeilani Mohamed was stabbed five times and shot at least seven times. 

Survivor Khalid Khalid was shot six times. One bullet entered the side of his face, passed through his head and exited beside his mouth, causing damage to parts of the skull, his brain and his teeth. 

On Tuesday, Judge Mark Lucraft KC sentenced them to life with a minimum term of 38 years. 

He told them: “I’m entirely satisfied that the events were the culmination of a carefully planned retaliation attack for the killing of Mohammed Usman Mirza. 

“You were each involved in planning and carrying out this horrific attack.” 

Ohanweh, from Romford, Adan, from Barking, Gouled, from Enfield, and Mirza, of Newham, were also handed life sentences for the attempted murders and six years for perverting the course of justice to run concurrently. 

A fifth defendant, Zakarie Mohamad, 19, of Kensington, was sentenced to four years in a young offenders institute after he pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice.