A man killed his ‘friend’ by stabbing him and running him over with his car before attempting to flee the country.

Rakar Rahimi, 23, of no fixed abode, carried out the brutal attack on 22-year-old Bako Azad Sheikha before being arrested by Port of Dover Police as he tried to escape the UK.

An investigation was launched on September 12 last year after police were called to a residential street shortly before 2am.

Witnesses reported seeing a man being thrown from the car and run over multiple times.

Officers arrived to find the victim with stab wounds and multiple other injuries.

He sadly died at the scene.

The deceased was later identified as 22-year-old Bako Azad Sheikha, who arrived in the UK in 2015 from Iraq as an asylum seeker.

Bako’s family and friends described how since moving to the UK, Bako had “wanted to make a difference to other young people who had also fled their country due to dangerous situations.”

The incident, which took place on Distillery Lane in Colchester, Essex, prompted a murder investigation by Essex and Kent Serious Crime Directorate and managed by DCI Antony Alcock.

“From the moment that call came into us, our priority was to locate the person responsible and bring them to justice,” said DCI Alcock.

“Our detectives worked quickly, carrying out house to house enquiries and reviewing CCTV from the area.

From this, Rakar Rahimi was identified as the main suspect in this investigation.”

Speaking with people in the Kurdish Community, officers began to track down their suspect.

They found Rahimi had visited a barber shop in Ipswich where he had admitted to stabbing Bako and running him over.

Officers continued to review Rahimi’s movements and CCTV showed him taking multiple trains from Ipswich to London and towards Dover.

During this time frame, Bako’s car, which Rahimi had used to drive away from the scene, was found crashed and abandoned on farmland in Tolleshunt D’arcy. Close to this, officers also found cash and a jacket with the victim’s blood on it.

After concluding that Rahimi was likely to be heading to Dover, detectives alerted Port of Dover Police and shortly after 11pm on 12 September, Rahimi was arrested on suspicion of murder.

Following the three week trial, he appeared in court on Thursday, 22 June where he was sentenced to life in prison, to serve a minimum of 24 years and 87 days.

“This was a senseless murder by Rakar Rahimi, who Bako trusted and considered to be a friend…”

DCI Alcock added “This was a senseless murder by Rakar Rahimi, who Bako trusted and considered to be a friend. The level of violence that Rahimi used, by stabbing Bako and running him over shows him to be a dangerous individual.

“Throughout the trial, Rahimi created elaborate defences for his actions and mislead the court.

“He claimed that his actions were as a result of Bako making sexual advances towards him which is absolutely untrue. This was consequently published in the media which has caused Bako’s family further distress.

“The murder left the community incredibly shaken and I have reached out to thank those within the Kurdish community who helped directly with this investigation.

“I hope that those affected feel a sense of closure and are able to move forward from Bako’s tragic death.”