A US citizen accused of plotting to murder a Birmingham shop owner has appeared in court after being extradited to the UK from Armenia where she was arrested last summer.
Aimee Betro, originally from Wisconsin, is accused of being involved in a conspiracy to kill Aslat Mahumad and members of his family.
Betro, 45, was also charged with possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence, and a charge related to the alleged importation of ammunition into the UK. She was flown to Gatwick airport on Thursday by officers from the National Crime Agency’s Joint International Crime Centre.
During a brief hearing at Birmingham magistrates court on Friday, Betro spoke to confirm her name and date of birth and gave her home address as a district on the outskirts of Yerevan, Armenia’s capital. She thanked the judge after she was remanded in custody.
Betro will next appear at Birmingham crown court on 14 February, after the district judge John Bristow was told she had formally indicated pleas of not guilty to all three charges before the hearing.
Adjourning the case, the judge told her: “You are charged with three offences: a conspiracy to murder, a possession of a firearm with intent and an offence relating to the unlawful importation of ammunition.
“The first two of those two offences are so serious they can only be dealt with at the crown court.”
