TWO Bradford men who fled the country after their friend was killed while they were "street racing" have been arrested.

Osama Saeed, 32, of St Paul's Road, in Manningham and Asgar Taj, 35, of Heather Grove were apprehended at Manchester Airport yesterday after travelling to the UK on a flight from Abu Dhabi.

The men were on trial last year for causing the death of a man by dangerous driving.

A spokesperson for Cheshire Police said they took part in a street race on the A34, near Wilmslow in 2020 and their friend Asad Rashid, 34, from Bradford was killed when it ended in disaster.

Saeed and Taj fled the country in October 2023 when they were partway through the trial.

They subsequently pleaded guilty to their offences after dialling into the court from abroad.

But both men failed to return for their sentencing and were dealt with in their absence on December 15 last year.

The pair were jailed for 12 years each and warrants for their arrest were issued.

Both men appeared at Minshull Street Crown Court on Monday afternoon and will be back in court on Friday to be seen by the judge who sentenced in their absence.

Osama SaeedOsama Saeed (Image: Cheshire Police)

Asgar TajAsgar Taj (Image: Cheshire Police)

A third defendant, Mohammad Zubair Chaudhry, 31 of Kingsway, Cheadle, who also pleaded guilty to the offence, remains outstanding and enquiries to locate him are ongoing.

He was sentenced to 10 years and seven months in prison.

The court was told during the hearing that all three men, as well as Rashid, travelled to Cheshire on September 15, 2020 to take part in a race.

Chaudry was driving an Audi R8 and Saeed was in an Audi R3, while Taj and Rashid were riding Suzuki motorbikes.

The arrests being made at Manchester AirportThe arrests being made at Manchester Airport (Image: Police)

Police examined the mobile phones of all four men as part of their investigation and discovered that Chaudry intimated the roads in Cheshire would be good for racing as police "didn't know them".

The group travelled to Cheshire from Manchester along the A34 and as they passed under the A555 bridge all four drivers lined up at the traffic lights ready to race.

Video footage obtained from a truck driver showed the group used the traffic lights as a starting flag, racing off as soon as the lights changed.

The level of acceleration put the vehicles out of sight within seconds and showed the intent of all four drivers to win the race, according to a spokesperson for Cheshire Police.

The group approached the total fitness roundabout at 10.10pm and all four collided with the middle of it.

Their vehicles narrowly missed hitting innocent members of the public as they traversed the roundabout.

Chaudhry's Audi R8 hit first, tearing off the underside of the engine flying through the roundabout central core to end up 135 meters further down the A34.

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The two motorbikes and the Audi RS3 then hit the roundabout at about the same time.

Taj and Rashid both became unseated from their bikes as they collided with it.

Taj sustained a number of serious injuries including a fracture to his right arm and fractures to his left foot.

Rashid was struck by the RS3 as it hit the central reservation becoming trapped by the vehicle and passed away at the scene as a result of his injuries.

Members of the public stopped at the scene to assist the injured men.

Taj was seen deleting files from Instagram, before deleting the app itself, as he lay on the roundabout, according to a spokesperson for Cheshire Police.

Further examinations of the phones found Chaudhury had "trophy videos", showing him and others known to him driving at shocking speeds on roads across the country.

One video showed him driving at 139mph in a 40mph zone on the A34 Kingsway Grange, near to his home address, a built-up area with a school and lots of residential houses.

A further video was found showing Chaudhury driving at 192mph on a motorway.

He was bragging with others while driving his Audi R8.

Cheshire Police said the convicts had a "horrific attitude to driving" and said "none of them have shown any remorse".

Following the arrests on Monday, Inspector Steve Griffiths, of the Serious and Complex Collision Investigation Unit at Cheshire Police, said: "As this result demonstrates, we will not give up, if you commit a crime in Cheshire, you will be arrested and you will be held accountable.

“On their arrival at Manchester Airport this morning, Saeed and Taj were both greeted by a team of officers from the Cheshire Police Serious and Complex Collision Investigation Unit, along with support from the Roads and Crime Unit and GMP.

“Both men were promptly detained at the arrival gate and will be put in front of the courts later today.”