THE angry mother of teenager Sajjad Mahmood, who died after he was beaten by drug dealers, today said the failure by police to fully investigate her son's disappearance cost vital evidence in the case.

Mrs Mahmood spoke after seeing drug dealer James Butler, 21, of Persia Street, Accrington, sentenced to a total of 10 years in prison for killing the 18-year-old and dealing in drugs. Sajjad's body was found in an Accrington lodge last April.

His mother said she gave Accrington police the names of the three men who were last week convicted in connection with his death. But she claims they said her information was "not much to follow up."

Mrs Mahmood said she was told of her son's death by people in the town and told the police she suspected his body had been dumped in Haggs Lodge, close to the town centre. She claimed officers tried to convince her that Sajjad, who lived with his family in Royds Street, Accrington, had run away to avoid an arranged marriage.

Mrs Mahmood has lodged a complaint with the Police Complaints Authority, who have pledged they will investigate "irregularities" in the handling of the teenager's disappearance.

Sajjad was attacked by three drug dealers in a revenge attack for a drunken prank which misfired, Preston Crown Court heard yesterday.

Mrs Mahmood thanked detectives at Accrington CID for their outstanding efforts but said their work had been hampered by the early failure of the police to find's Sajjad's body. She said: "It is because of the misconduct of the police that they didn't have all the evidence they could have had. "One of the witnesses told me that Sajjad's body was down at the lodge. I told the police but nobody paid any attention. The way that we were treated still upsets me now. We were turned away and I had to look for my son's body myself.

"My son was lying in that lake for so long that there was no evidence of exactly how he died."

A post mortem examination revealed Sajjad had been beaten but failed to discover an exact cause of death.

Mrs Mahmood said: "The police had James Butler in the police station but they let him go. Then the following day the house in Princess Street was set on fire. I believe that was done to destroy any evidence from there."

The prosecution at Preston Crown Court alleged that Butler torched the house in order to destroy evidence. Butler told the jury he had intended to close the house up because police knew too much about his drug business.

Mrs Mahmood has vowed to relive the painful days she spent searching for Sajjad to assist the Police Complaints Authority's investigation into the police handling of the disappearance.

She said: "It is hard for me to relive that time. I wanted to forget it all and start living my life. But I have to tell the PCA what happened because I don't want any other parents to be in the situation we were in.

"I felt insulted by the officers and I was very much offended."

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