Mo Siddique sentenced to life for hiring hitman to assassinate brother

A WIDOW said she could not forgive her brother-in-law after he was jailed for a minimum of 25 years for hiring a gunman to murder her husband in a fall-out over their business empire.

Saimah Siddique said Toby Siddique, 38, had loved and trusted his brother, Mo Siddique, 42, and she could not forgive him for instigating the “brutal” shooting.

“In a way, I feel sorry for him. My husband trusted him the most, probably more than he trusted me, and for him to do such an attack on his own brother, who loved him so much... I don’t have words to describe how I feel towards him but, yes, I feel sorry for him,” added Mrs Siddique, 33, a mother of three.

Mo and Toby Siddique had clashed over control of their lucrative flat rental business in Fife, and Tencho Andonov, 28, from Bulgaria, was to be paid £18,000 to eliminate the younger brother. He shot him repeatedly in the head in a flat in Glenrothes on 24 October, 2010. He was told he would serve at least 29 years.

Siddique, of Auchtertool, Fife, and Andonov, of Livingston, West Lothian, showed no emotion as they were led from the dock at the High Court in Edinburgh with another man, Deyan Nikolov, 27, also a Bulgarian, of Kirkcaldy, Fife, who had acted as go-between in the deal and who received a minimum term of 18 years.

All three had been found guilty last month of murdering Toby Siddique after one of the longest trials in recent times. It ran for more than four months. The trio had known they would receive mandatory life sentences, and Lord Kinclaven had to set their “punishment parts”, the time they must spend in custody before becoming eligible for parole.

Toby Siddique’s widow, Saimah, said the sentencing had removed a “massive burden off my shoulders” and justice had been done.

“It has been 18 months, and none of it has been easy. Whether it was Toby’s brother or my own brother, I would have fought for justice from day one. I knew my husband for 14 years and having to sit through the trial and listen to the defence blacken his name was not easy. My husband had a heart of gold and they portrayed him to be someone he wasn’t. He lived for his children and it is upsetting to know my children are going to grow up without a father.”

The inquiry was one of the largest and most complex in the 62-year history of Fife Constabulary. At one stage, more than 80 of the force’s 1,400 staff were involved and the investigation cost in excess of £1.5 million.

Detective Superintendent Colin Beattie, who was in charge of the case, said: “Thankfully, such crimes are extremely rare in Fife. In this large and extremely complicated investigation, our officers and staff worked with other law enforcement agencies and partner organisations across the UK and beyond. I would like to thank the diverse range of communities in Fife for their help and support in solving the case. Various nationalities and cultures cut across the investigation and our staff received co-operation and assistance from all concerned.”