West Yorkshire Police’s tireless and determined work to bring Ricardo Linton to justice was today praised by the judge sentencing the remorseless double killer to a minimum of 31 years and 312 days behind bars.

Linton is currently serving a “25 years to life” jail term in New York for a similar execution-type gun murder but he will be transferred to a prison in the United Kingdom to serve any outstanding balance on that sentence.

Mr Justice Lavender praised the team of police officers who launched a worldwide investigation to bring Linton to justice, extraditing him from the United States to stand tri-al in Bradford.

The list of commendations included the then Detective Inspector Steve Snow of the Homicide and Major Enquiry Team (HMET). Now retired, he named Linton in 2011 as being wanted on suspicion of Mr Basharat’s murder.

DI Snow revealed that Mr Basharat was killed with a .38 calibre handgun by a lone hooded killer who burst into the minicab office where he worked.

He said that Linton was a person of “significant interest” to the murder enquiry.

He was said to be using the alias Wayne Alfonso McDonald at the time and to have fre- the Young Lions Cafe in Lumb Lane, Manningham, Bradford.

Today, the police said that extensive enquiries by HMET to trace Linton had established that he was in a New York prison serving a sentence for a murder committed in 1993.

They stated: “It was also established that he had fled to Jamaica and was extradited back to the United States in 2004, where he was later convicted of the 1993 murder and given a minimum sentence of 25 years.

In September 2020, Linton was returned to the UK and arrested and charged with the murder of Mr Basharat and the attempted murder of his colleague Mr Khan on October 20, 2001.

Speaking after the sentencing Detective Chief Inspector Vanessa Rolfe, said: “The investigation team have worked tirelessly for years tracing witnesses from all over the world to piece together this challenging case and make every effort to ensure the extradition and conviction of Linton.

“Linton tried twice to escape justice for his crimes, but his past has now caught up with him and he is likely to spend the rest of his life behind bars.

“I also hope this demonstrates that West Yorkshire Police never closes a murder case until it is solved and that violent criminals like Linton will be pursued until they are brought to justice for their horrific crimes, no matter where in the world they are.”