An illegal immigrant who should have been deported nine years ago was among five thugs who have been jailed for a total of 189 years after the brutal murder an innocent schoolboy and a young man.Jason Furtado, 28, who was born in the UK to Angolan parents and had repeatedly dodged deportation despite a string of serious offences, joined fellow gang members in a savage attack on Leonardo Reid, 15, and Klevi Shekaj, 23, on June 29 last year.
The pair, neither of whom were gang-affiliated, had simply turned up to watch a rap video being filmed in Islington when they were mistakenly identified as rivals.
Within minutes, they were stabbed to death with machetes in a frenzied assault involving at least 40 people.
Furtado, who was on an electronic tag at the time, had already been convicted of violent and dangerous crimes, including crashing a stolen car into drinkers outside a London pub just days after the Westminster terror attack in 2017.
That incident left a woman with life-threatening injuries.
Despite his criminal record, repeated attempts by the Home Office to deport him – first made in 2016 – failed due to human rights appeals and tribunal rulings. He remained in the UK, committing further offences.
On the night of the killings, Furtado travelled with fellow gang members Lorik Lupqi, 22, Abel Chunda, 29, Eden Clark, 31, and Xavier Poponne, 22, to the scene of the rap video where they launched the deadly ambush.
Furtado and Lupqi were found guilty of two counts of murder and one of attempted murder alongside Chunda, Clark and Poponne. The five were jailed for a combined total of 189 years at the Old Bailey.
Chunda alone has 97 previous convictions including robbery, assault and possession of offensive weapons.
Lupqi – a Kosovan national who fled the country after the attack – was later extradited back to the UK.
During sentencing, he fired his barrister and hurled vile abuse at the judge, shouting: 'Suck your mum, f***ing racist little b***h… I'll do 30 per and then go back to Kosovo and then come back and kill you.'
He was handcuffed in the dock due to fears he would again lash out, as he had during earlier hearings where he had attacked his co-defendants and disrupted proceedings.
The attack also left a third victim, Abdulla Abdullahi, 28, seriously injured. He survived but suffered life-changing injuries.
Judge Anuja Dhir KC said the murders were a 'planned, brutal attack' carried out in just five minutes, adding: 'You stabbed three men – two of them died, and one suffered life-changing injuries.'
Furtado, Lupqi and the three others were all handed life sentences, with minimum terms ranging from 37 to 39 years before they can even be considered for release.
The court heard chilling lyrics were later found on Poponne's phone, mocking the killings. One line read: 'Billing up Leo, first time dat I glide yh I got me a trio' – with 'glide' referring to a gang 'ride-out'.
Leonardo's heartbroken mother, Valentina Locci, told the court: 'Leo was a beautiful, charming, intelligent boy. You robbed my son of his future. Some part of me will always be a lonely broken mother.'
Klevi's mother, Valbona Shekaj, also delivered a powerful victim impact statement, describing how she had shared a meal with her son on the day he died.
'His final words to me were a promise he would be home in five minutes… instead I was met with officers at my door delivering news which would affect me for the rest of my life,' she said through tears.
'What worsened our suffering was the behaviour of these men throughout the trial. They smirked at us, they argued with their lawyers, they treated it all like a game.'
The case has reignited anger over the UK's failure to remove dangerous foreign nationals.
Furtado had been granted the highest protection from deportation under EU laws after living in the country for over a decade – despite his criminal history.
He had also successfully appealed a second deportation attempt in 2020, even as he continued committing offences. By the time of the murders, he was on immigration bail, wearing a tag – and out on the streets.

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