It looks like a scene from a movie, but the story behind the image of Khayam Ali Khurshid being captured by armed officers in the streets of Amsterdam days after murdering Cole Kerssaw is a very real one.
Last Friday (May 21), three men were sentenced for the murder of Cole, a young boxer from Bury, after a comprehensive investigation by Greater Manchester Police which eventually spanned an ocean.
GMP’s Major Incident Team of fugitive finders crossed the English Channel to get their final man, after Mohammed Izaarh Khan handed himself in at Bury police station and gunman Kamran Mohammed was found close to home in Rochdale just days after the murder took place in August of last year.
The fatal shooting, which happened on Chesham Road, made headlines around the UK at the time, and in the days following, a large scale manhunt was already underway.
Detective Chief Inspector Andy Butterworth, Senior Investigating Officer, explains: “The Critical Wanted Unit completed numerous extensive and meticulous enquiries, including phone work around the location of Khurshid, before we got word from the border agency that he was on the Channel tunnel en route to France.
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GMP // Cole Kershaw, pictured above, was gunned down in Bury
“The unit were then able track him down as being in Amsterdam and we knew from financial transactions that he was planning to board a flight to Dubai, but he actually missed this flight as he didn’t have a COVID certificate.
“The work of the Dutch authorities continued before they tracked him to a nearby street and sent me a picture to check it was him; it was and then the next message I had was that they’d got him!”
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Following the dramatic detention by armed officers in the Dutch capital, it was then the job of the Force Extradition Unit to go to the Netherlands to arrest Khurshid and bring him back to the UK, where he would ultimately face justice for his actions.
The arrest was one of nearly 100 arrests made by GMP’s Critical Wanted team in 2020 – 48 of them being Greater Manchester’s most high-profile fugitives.
A further 46 arrests were made of suspects believed to be assisting those on the run and being involved in other serious crime such as drug supply and assault.
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DCI Butterworth added: “We couldn’t have brought every one of these men to justice had it not been the tireless work of the Critical Wanted Unit, and it’s a team that is vital in securing the arrests of the most serious of suspects we have in our region.
“Any investigation, particularly one as big as this one, is not just about one detective or one team – it is a big team effort from so many people across the force and the Force Critical Wanted Unit, for one, played a crucial role in this case.”
GMP // Kamran Mohammed, Mohammed Izaarh Khan and Khayam Ali Khurshid were jailed for life
Detective Inspector Simon Akker, head of GMP’s Force Critical Wanted Unit, said: “Once again our team have gained a brilliant result for all the painstaking hours of work that they put into ensuring that Greater Manchester’s most dangerous individuals are behind bars instead of on the streets.
“While a lot of our work is domestically alongside the North West Regional Organised Crime Unit and National Crime Agency, it is not uncommon for suspected criminals to flee the country in a bid to avoid facing the consequences of their crimes, but this case epitomises our dedication of going to whatever lengths possible to bring offenders to justice.
“Here we worked collaboratively with the Dutch authorities, and even now we are still liaising closely with them to catch today’s fugitives who, while they may be at large, should know that all of our international partners have the shared endeavour of ridding these people from our streets and we will do what we can in order to achieve this.”
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Over 350 hours of video footage, including 75 CCTV cameras, were meticulously viewed through the course of the investigation, and over 250 people were spoken to as part of the operation – codenamed Landseer.
Kamran Mohammed (28/03/2001), Mohammed Izaarh Khan (19/04/1999), and Khayam Ali Khurshid (20/03/1992) – all from Bury – were each sentenced to life on Friday 21 May 2021 after being found guilty of murder and possession of an offensive weapon with intent to endanger life.
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Latest wave of ‘Evening 4’ Ricky Hatton lineup in memory of the legendary Manc boxer announced
Danny Jones
Manchester is set to host a night of remembrance and celebration in honour of the late, great, local boxer, Ricky Hatton, and now a superb second wave of names has been added to AO Arena’s lineup.
Coming this summer, the legendary Manchester arena – where Hatton enjoyed so many of his iconic moments – will be holding the first-ever ‘Evening4Ricky’ later this year.
Held at the legendary sports and live entertainment venue just in time for summer, we still only know bits and pieces about what’s in store, but a whole host of familiar Manc faces, famous British names, and figures from the world of sport have now been announced.
Sharing the news on social media, AO Arena said: “Join us for an unforgettable night of entertainment as Manchester comes together for Evening4Ricky.
“This will be a spectacular, unique celebration of the life, spirit and legacy of one of the city’s most beloved icons – Ricky ‘The Hitman’ Hatton.”
With seats priced at £25, fans are being encouraged to join the early bird sign-up to secure access to discounted tickets.
As you can see, now confirmed for the evening are the likes of Man United legend, Paul Scholes, darts icon Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor, as well as fellow former boxers like Frank Bruno, Tony Bellew and more.
Local band, The K’s, were already confirmed as part of the in-person performances, but now the likes of Manc grime artists Bugzy Malone, fellow UK rapper Tinie Tempah, and The Lottery Winners are joining in, too, alongside loads more live music and entertainment set to be revealed in the coming weeks.
They go on to add: “Hosted at the legendary AO Arena, home to so many of Ricky’s big fights, featuring a superstar cast of legends from the worlds of boxing, music, comedy and entertainment.”
So, we do at least know there’ll be some famous faces coming along to help make it a memorable Manc moment, just a few months on from the city and beyond uniting for his public funeral procession.
Ricky was beloved not only by the Greater Manchester community but was a popular figure and friend to many in the sporting and showbiz industries.
The homegrown ‘Pride of Hyde‘ tragically left us on 14 September 2025 at the age of just 46, but his passing has once again helped reassert the importance of having more conversations around wellbeing, suicide prevention, and most specifically, men’s mental health.
You can find more information and see how to grab tickets right HERE.
This isn’t the only charitable in memoriam event happening across the region in the coming weeks, either, as Mancs will be gathering to pay tribute to another fellow inspiring sportsman.
Rare picture of David Bowie’s legendary one-off gig in Stockport unearthed
Danny Jones
A rare picture taken from the night of the late, great David Bowie’s legendary one-off gig in Stockport has been unearthed by a local whilst digging through his loft.
Imagine having that kind of history just squirrelled away in an attic…
As revealed by Stockport Music Story, after being supplied with the image by David Maynard, the snap was shared more than half a century on from the much-mythologised moment in Greater Manchester music history.
In fact, it was put on display and posted on social media quite literally 56 years to the day since Bowie played his only Stopfordian set on 27 April, 1970.
Maynard himself is featured in the newly discovered photograph (second from the left) and was one of the select and lucky few who were in the room for that very special show.
Organised by a group of teens on behalf of the Stockport Schools’ Students’ Union, the performance took place at the long-gone Poco a Poco music venue and club over in Heaton Chapel.
The storied space hosted many big names over the years – Gerry Marsden, Freddie Starr, Hank Marvin and more – but sadly closed in May of 1987 following a fire.
It went on to become the popular Hinds Head pub, which still serves punters to this day, but once had the honour of hosting a true artistic great and British icon.
For anyone wondering, this is indeed the same night on which David Robert Jones (yes, that’s Bowie‘s full birth name) missed his train home and had to sleep on the railway platform.
Here’s a BBC segment covering the tale back on its 55th anniversary in April 2025.
It may be a small and somewhat curious claim to fame, but native love the legend of it all nonetheless.
As for the other individuals pictured alongside him, Stockport Music Story (SMS) said: “The names of the people we know are David Maynard (2nd left), Roz Wood (3rd left), David Bowie, Bill Frost (2nd right), Stewart Rigby (right).”
They go on to add: “It would be amazing to find out who the other people in the photograph are and what they remember from that night.” We sincerely hope they do.
You can now see the plaque up close and personal at Stockport Station for yourselves and as for SMS’s growing archive of the region’s creative culture, you can find out tonnes more about other pieces of SK heritage right HERE.
The Manc -
24th May 2021 
