In R v MR and others, Elyas Patel instructed by Shuaib Khalil of Knightsbridge Solicitors secured acquittals for his client MR who was one of a number of Defendants charged with Attempted Murder, Kidnapping and Wounding With Intent. Rival factions had fought in the Balsall Heath area of the city in what detectives described as a ‘mini war’ linked to the drugs trade. The Prosecution case against MR was that he had been a participant in the group kidnap of a rival gang member who was dragged off the street and into a vehicle before he was driven to a secluded location and stabbed in the back and collar bone – the knife penetrating fully through his body. In a 7 week Trial before HH Judge Wall QC at Birmingham Crown Court, the Jury returned unanimous verdicts of ‘not guilty’ against Elyas’s client MR.