Clapham attack: Armed police raid pizza takeaway where Abdul Ezedi worked after it was revealed he was jilted by victim

ARMED cops have raided a pizza takeaway where Clapham chemical attack fugitive Abdul Ezedi worked.

It was one of two warrants carried out at addresses in Newcastle-upon-Tyne last night.

At around 11pm yesterday, police cordoned off a 200-yard stretch of road outside Best Bite, in Forest Hall, in the north of the city.

A short time later armed officers donning masks yelled for anyone inside the pizza and grill house to come out.

A battering ram was used to gain entry to an upstairs flat before detectives spent two hours searching the takeaway and flat for evidence.

They were later seen removing a number of items in evidence bags including the hard drive from the shop's , while the staff shivered outside in freezing temperatures.

The raid was such a surprise that workers didn't even have time to grab their coats.

They were ushered outside as the hunt for Ezedi - wanted for attempted murder - entered its seventh day on Thursday.

One said: "I have never seen so many police as this ever in my life."

The police finally left at around 2am.

No arrests were made and Ezedi remains at large almost exactly a week on from the attack, which took place 290 miles away in South London.

The manager of the takeaway said: "This has come up from London.

"They came and searched and found nothing. That's fine. We don't mind. He isn't here."

Staff have previously claimed Ezedi only worked at the takeaway for a few days a year ago.

But locals reckon he has been there much more recently and had worked there for about 12 months.

The Metropolitan Police's Newcastle's raids were a joint operation with Northumbria Police and inquiries and searches continue.

In London, the investigation team has now updated the timeline of Ezedi's last known movements on Wednesday, January 31.

They previously believed the last sighting was on Vauxhall Bridge but he was later spotted at a Shell petrol station on Grosvenor Road at 11.10pm.

He then passed the Thames Water Building, on Grosvenor Road, heading towards Chelsea Bridge at 11.19pm.

At 11.27pm he was seen crossing back over Chelsea Bridge towards the north side after previously entering Battersea Park at 11.25pm.

A large number of officers also revisited the scene of the attack in Lessar Avenue, Clapham yesterday evening to make more appeals for information.

STILL AT LARGE

Ezedi is suspected of luring a mum into meeting him before hurling chemicals over her after their relationship "broke down", police said on Wednesday.

The suspect allegedly arranged to meet the 31-year-old after he tracked her down to the two-star Clapham South Belvedere Hotel.

He then attacked her and her daughters, aged three and eight, in their car, police said.

The mum remains in hospital and is "too poorly to speak" due to her "significant injuries".

A total of 12 people were injured in the attack.

On Wednesday, police said the fugitive was now wanted for attempted murder following the severity of his victim's injuries.

He was last seen crossing Vauxhall Bridge Road into Grosvenor Road, London.

Ezedi came to the UK hidden in a lorry in 2016, and was turned down twice for asylum before successfully appealing against the Home Office rejection by claiming he had converted to Christianity.

He was convicted of two sexual offences in 2018 but was allowed to stay in the UK because his crimes were not serious enough to meet the threshold for deportation.

A tribunal judge is understood to have ruled in favour of his asylum claim in 2020 after a retired Baptist church minister confirmed he had converted to Christianity, reportedly describing Ezedi as "wholly committed" to his new religion.