Detectives investigating the execution-style murder of a Bradford cab driver are examining possible links with Jamaican 'Yardie' gangsters.

Officers revealed their prime suspect, a 28-year-old they will not name, had only arrived in Britain from Jamaica three months before Mohammed Basharat, pictured, was gunned down in a Little Horton private hire office.

Officers believe the suspect may have entered the country using false details.

The murder squad has forged close links with Jamaican organised crime specialists working on Operation Trident in London where the suspect is thought to have fled.

The Trident team is working to tackle "black on black" crime in the capital and looking at how Yardie gangsters are embroiled in major drug turf wars.

Detective Sergeant Colin Stansbie, of the Bradford murder team, revealed today that seven illegal immigrants suspected of having links with Yardie gangs had been deported from Bradford to Jamaica as a result of the inquiry.

The premeditated 'hit' on the Heaton father-of-four is thought to have been retribution for a road rage incident last October.

Mr Basharat's cab had clipped wing-mirrors with a hired Renault Clio on Park Lane and the Afro-Caribbean driver threatened to kill the cabbie.

The following day, a masked gunman strode into the office of Little Horton Private Hire and, without uttering a word, shot the 33-year-old once in the head and twice more as he lay dying on the floor.

Det Sgt Stansbie said: "Our prime suspect is a 28-year-old man who left Bradford immediately after the shooting and who, according to intelligence, is now probably in the London area.

"It is believed he had arrived in Britain three or four months earlier and had been living in Bradford."

The man gave a London contact address when he arrived in Britain but almost immediately moved north.

Det Sgt Stansbie said: "Our officers have been liaising closely with our colleagues at Operation Trident and have been travelling down to London to pool our intelligence."

Officers throughout the city have been given the suspect's details.

Operation Trident was formed in 1998 to combat the escalating violence of black drugs gangs in the capital, spawned by the arrival of organised Jamaican gangsters or 'Yardies'. Widely regarded as the most ruthless criminals in Britain, the Yardies have carried out dozens of murders in London and, more recently, have been blamed for killings other British cities.

Det Stansbie said: "In the course of the investigation, we have gone to a number of addresses in the Bradford area and questioned the occupants. As a result, seven people, five males and two females, were found to be illegal immigrants and deported to Jamaica."

Another two women remain in the country pending an appeal against their deportation.

Det Sgt Stansbie said that immediately after Mr Basharat's murder, they visited a block of flats in Greaves Street, Little Horton where the suspect was thought to have lived.

"At this time, a number of other people left the flats, probably concerned of possible repercussions and retribution.

He added: "Our message is that they are not suspects in any way and they have nothing to fear from this man because he is no longer in Bradford.

"They could have vital information and we would urge them to speak to us."

Anyone with information should contact the murder incident room on (01274) 373133.