A gunman who killed a prominent Fife businessman and injured another man remained at large last night as police continue to piece together the circumstances behind the double shooting.
Detectives probing the death of Mohammed Nadeem Siddique (38), who was shot dead at a ground-floor flat in Forres Drive in Glenrothes at around 9.25pm on Sunday night, reiterated their appeals for witnesses to come forward as the community tries to come to terms with what happened.
Mr Siddique, better known as Toby, was murdered from close range when the gunman entered the house and opened fire, killing him and wounding another man believed to be an associate of Mr Siddique’s.
Officers have since been able to question the injured man, who was released from hospital on Monday.
With the culprit still on the streets, police are not only stepping up their efforts to track down the killer but are also trying to establish a motive for what appears on the face of it to be a gangland-style hit.
Forces across Scotland have been issued with information and a description of the armed fugitive, amid fears the killer may have fled Fife soon after committing the shooting.
Suggesting the killing appears to have been an isolated incident, Superintendent Tom Ewing, head of community policing for Fife Police, urged members of the public to stay calm in the wake of the attack and stressed a heavy police presence would be maintained in the area to reassure residents.
Mr Ewing said police are still keen to speak to a man described as being in his 30s, with short brown hair, of stocky build and wearing a dark-coloured zip-up top who was spotted in the Tanshall area at the time of the incident.
“We would like him to come forward so we can eliminate him from our inquiries,” he said. “He was seen in close proximity to the block of flats. The area is one well known to police but it’s not one where this kind of violence is expected.Purely speculation”Motive forms a major part of the investigation but anything we said about that just now would be purely speculative. It has probably caused a lot of concern to the community that such an incident has occurred, however there is no intelligence to suggest that this person is a danger to the public.”
It is understood Mr Siddique’s body was finally removed from the Forres Drive property on Tuesday afternoon and will be returned to his family after a post-mortem is carried out.
Forensic experts and scenes of crime officers have endeavoured to ensure the scene remained as it had been when police and ambulance arrived late on Sunday night and continued to conduct an investigation on Tuesday.
A wide cordon marshalled by police and traffic wardens covering the intricate maze of streets and garages in Tanshall remained in place, while an incident van was set up at the entrance of Forres Drive.
The Siddique family are known throughout the region for, as one local man put it, having their “fingers in a lot of pies.” The family own several shops, businesses and properties, with the flat where the shooting took place owned by Glenfoyle Properties a property firm registered to the Siddique family.
Police are continuing to explore whether or not that had anything to do with the shooting, as neighbours have suggested Mr Siddique, nicknamed Toby ‘The Landlord’, may have been pursuing rent or trying to evict a problem tenant that evening.
However Fife Council has revealed that Mr Siddique himself was not actually a registered landlord and was merely in the process of becoming one.
Private sector team leader John McArthur said, “He had applied for registration and we were processing his application according to normal practices.”
Police have also refused to confirm or deny speculation drugs may have been behind the tragedy, while reports Mr Siddique may have had a lot of enemies as a result of his business interests are also being looked at.
Mr Siddique, who lives in Kirkcaldy and is thought to be a father of three, has extensive contacts not only in Fife but also in Tayside and Perth, and is listed as a director of 786 Estates Limited in Glenrothes and Moncrieff Properties in Kirkcaldy.
He previously owned the Costcutter store at the Glenwood Centre in Glenrothes and owned the Chicken Cottage fast food restaurant in Kirkcaldy. His brother Aleem runs the Blue Monday nightclub in Kirkcaldy, while the Siddiques also operate Fife security firm Defence4Security.
Mr Siddique was jailed four years ago for his part in a fraudulent scheme to obtain money, goods and services, admitting a charge of obtaining goods valued at £10,793. No members of Mr Siddique’s family have so far been willing to talk to the press about the tragedy, and have asked for privacy at this time.