Car dealer — I had nothing to do with murder

A MAN accused of being involved in the murder of an Oldham dad in a drugs row told a court he had nothing to do with the shooting.

Craig McKenzie (29) and Damien Green (31) are alleged to have plotted to kill 29-year-old Amran Khan, who was gunned down on September 18, 2009.

The two men deny murder in a Manchester Crown Court trial.

It is alleged Mr Khan was shot because he and his business man brother, Gulfan Khan, refused to pay for £12,000 of heroin the defendants had supplied.

McKenzie, of Parkside Road, Fallowfield, was the first of the two defendants to give evidence.

Questioned by Maura McGowan QC, defending, he said he was a luxury car dealer who rented vehicles to footballers.

He insisted he had nothing to do with drugs or the killing.

Identical twins Jordan and Brett Francis (28) are said to have acted as go-betweens in the soured drug deal.

The pair were last year convicted of killing Amran Khan, who was shot at his home in Glodwick.

Hours before the shooting, Green, of Aldwyn Crescent, Hazel Grove, and McKenzie were captured on CCTV talking to the Francis brothers outside their home in Chadderton.

The prosecution say the footage reveals the men discussing the final preparations for the murder. McKenzie said the conversation concerned a plot the Francis twins had to steal a Mercedes car from Gulfan Khan’s car lot after he “robbed” them of the heroin.

McKenzie said he had nothing to with the drug deal but agreed to help the twins get rid of the Mercedes because they were friends “in a sticky situation”.

McKenzie denied he had given the twins advice on how to use a gun and said evidence placing him in the area from where the car used by the killers was stolen two days earlier was because he lived in the area.

He admitted driving the twins to a cab rank after the murder, saying they feared they had a £100,000 price on their head and asked for help.

He denied driving the twins to Runcorn — where they were to throw themselves in the Manchester Ship Canal in a suicide bid — or giving them money to get out of the way.

The case continues.