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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Manchester Airport to host big jobs fair with more than 500 roles on offer
Emily Sergeant
Hundreds of careers are set for take-off, as Manchester Airport’s popular jobs fair is returning early next month.
Manchester Airports Group (MAG), which owns and operates Manchester Airport as well as East Midlands and London Stansted Airports, is one of the largest of its kind in the UK, and for its first jobs fair of the year is promoting vacancies in areas like airport security, lounge hospitalitylmand terminal operations, as well as other roles on offer with third-party employers based at the airport.
Some of these roles range from airline support and check‑in, to airside operations, logistics and ground handling, retail, and special assistance services for passengers with restricted mobility.
Attendees will have the opportunity to learn more about a career at the airport by speaking to employers operating on-site.
More than 500 roles will be advertised at the event, and more than 20 leading employers will be represented.
Manchester Airport is hosting a big jobs fair with more than 500 roles on offer / Credit: MAG
Running from 10am to 2pm on Tuesday 3 March at Wythenshawe Forum, some of the other employers who will be represented at the fair include retailers and franchise operators like Boots, Costa Coffee, JD Wetherspoon, WHSmith, Pasta Evangelists, Monsoon, HMSHost SSP, and World Duty Free, as well as airport service providers like PrimeFlight, 36T HUB, Mitie, Swissport and ABM.
The Airport Academy, which is run in partnership by Manchester Airport and Trafford & Stockport College Group, will also be in attendance on the day to promote its free pre-employment support programmes and fully accredited training schemes.
Jobseekers who secure a role within MAG can take advantage of a wide range of benefits during their employment.
These include discounts on public transport when travelling to work, free on-site car parking whilst working and when going on holiday, an excellent pension scheme, training programmes, retail discounts, and many more.
There’ll also be a wide range of third-party employers present at the event / Credit: MAG
“We’re proud to serve the North, not just by flying people to the places they want to travel to, but by helping local people find their way into rewarding and fulfilling careers,” commented Tina Edwards, who is the People Director at Manchester Airport.
“The airport directly employs more than 3,400 people and indirectly supports almost 20,000 jobs, so we’re a major contributor to the local economy and our ambitious growth plans mean we’re always looking for more talented people to join our teams. The same is true of our fantastic partners who are represented at this jobs fair.
“It’s an exciting time to be embarking on a career at Manchester Airport as our £1.3bn, decade-long expansion programme wraps up this year, giving us the platform to realise our potential as a truly global hub.”
Manchester Airport’s spring careers fair is free for all to attend, but you’ll need to book your ticket online first here.
Featured Image – MAG
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‘Ambitious’ new plans to tackle fly-tipping and litter across Manchester revealed
Emily Sergeant
An ambitious new plan to tackle flytipping and litter across Manchester has been revealed.
Developed with extensive input from residents, partners, businesses, and schools all across the borough, Manchester City Council has this week unveiled and formally approved the Fly-Tipping and Litter Strategy as a long‑term plan to significantly reduce the improper disposal of waste and its drain on public money, all while improving neighbourhood cleanliness across the city.
The strategy sets out a framework over nine years, backed by targeted enforcement, service improvements, and behaviour‑change campaigns to drive significant impact for thousands of Mancs.
As it stands, the Council removes litter as part of its scheduled services – with 6,563 reports responded to and 11,952 fines issued in 2024-25 – but is having to take things up a notch due to a consistent rise in littering incidents, as well as the ever-present issue of fly-tipping.
‘Ambitious’ new plans to tackle fly-tipping and litter across Manchester have been revealed / Credit: oatsy40 (via Flickr)
Nationally, England saw 1.15 million incidents of flytipping in 2023/24, with household waste accounting for more than 60% of cases, while here in Manchester, the city recorded a whopping 14,963 fly‑tipping incidents in 2024/25.
According to the Council, fly-tipping in Manchester usually occurs on roads and pavements (59%), and alleyways (22%).
The Council’s new Fly-tipping and Litter Strategy will be formally launched next month to coincide with the beginning of the Great British Spring Clean, and is hoped to signal a commitment to creating ‘cleaner, safer, and greener’ neighbourhoods for everyone.
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“The Fly-Tipping and Litter Strategy is a significant step towards improving the long-term health of Manchester’s communities,” explained Councillor Lee-Ann Igbon, who is the Executive Member for Vibrant Neighbourhoods at Manchester City Council, as the plans were unveiled this week.
“We recognised how important it is to hear from residents, people who live and work in the city, themselves and so we have developed this strategy in close consultation through their lived experiences and advice.
“While we already have key initiatives we work under, in addition to several other strategies and projects, this new strategy sets to galvanise and advance the work our services and communities are doing to ensure Manchester becomes cleaner and greener for everyone.”
The Manc -
24th May 2021 
