Five months after a notorious Brothers Keeper gangster and alleged hitman was found shot to death in a burning Surrey house, the charred wood, damaged roof and broken windows appear untouched.
The Discovery
When firefighters and police arrived just after 7 a.m. on Jan. 12, they found Naseem Ali Mohammed, 27, on a black leather couch on the main floor of the rented $3-million Panorama Ridge house. His head tilted backwards, he looked almost peaceful in a macabre photograph that circulated hours after his death. Except for the blood visible above his left eye and on his right ear, he could have been sleeping, dressed all in black with a band holding his hair off his face.
Easy Access for Killers
A source told Postmedia News that a side door in the eight-bedroom, six bathroom house at 12732-56th Ave. had been left unlocked, meaning easy access for Mohammed’s killer or killers. They followed the method perfected by Brothers Keepers hit men, escaping in a getaway vehicle that was set on fire later that day in Redwood Park, about 18 kilometres southeast of the murder scene.
Investigation Progress
The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team’s Sgt. Freda Fong said this week that officers have identified “at least four individuals believed to be involved” in Mohammed’s murder. “We hope to provide the public with significant updates as they become available,” she said, confirming what IHIT said at the start of the investigation, that “this was a targeted hit related to organized crime.” Police said at the time that Mohammed’s violent demise was “associated to the B.C. gang conflict” and that the “investigation is active and ongoing.”
Cycle of Violence
Several tit-for-tat murders in Surrey and beyond are believed to have flowed from Mohammed’s slaying in a cycle of violence that dates to 2015, when the Brothers Keepers was founded by Mohammed’s mentor, Gavinder Grewal. Mohammed was believed to be at the centre of the violence: Canadian authorities told their U.S. counterparts in January 2021 that the young Surrey gangster and rapper was a “suspect in multiple homicides spanning two provinces.”
Uncharged Allegations
Despite that startling information, Mohammed was never charged in connection with any murder in Canada. Nor was there ever a public warning issued about his alleged violence and the risk he posed on B.C. streets.
Background Investigation
Postmedia has investigated Mohammed’s history — from his boyhood in Surrey to his gang involvement with two older brothers, the murder allegations, his rap career and social media taunting, and his ultimate end. Police sources told Postmedia he was a suspect in between eight and 12 murders in B.C. and Ontario. Some underworld sources claim that’s exaggerated and believe he’s likely responsible for fewer hits. Others say there are even more bodies.
