A fake cigarettes smuggler who survived a shooting in Scotland has been released from jail and is lying low in Iraq.
Kamaran Khader, 38, cheated death when he was blasted by a gunman near a playpark in Greenock just over a year ago.
In September while on a visit to Iraq, he was invited to a meeting by a rival to settle their feud.
But on his way to the summit in the Kurdistan region, Khader and three other British nationals were arrested and accused of gun and drugs offences.
They were paraded in front of the media wearing orange jail jumpsuits but a source claimed charges had been dropped and they had been freed.
But with the hitman who tried to kill him still at large, Khader is keeping a low profile at his parents’ home in Kurdistan.
Our photo shows him apparently relaxing in a cafe there.
The gangland source said: “Kamaran and the others were all released in Iraq. All the charges against Kamaran and the others were dropped. They were false allegations.
“They were held against their will, then they got detained officially.
“First he was accused of gun crimes over the meeting. Then he was accused of committing drugs and other offences but there was no evidence.
“It was all a set-up by the people over here that have a problem with him.
“He is now living in Iraq and is looking after his parents. They are both really unwell.
“He is living in Sulaymaniyah and keeping himself to himself.”
Khader was the ringleader of a £28million smuggling ring that imported low grade and counterfeit tobacco, raking in a fortune in Scotland and England.
But they were caught when an HMRC probe uncovered £84,400 in cash and 14.4million cigarettes. In 2014, the crook and six cronies, including Glasgow man Sirwan Hassan, 42, were convicted at Manchester Crown Court and locked up for a total of 26 years.
After his release, Khader moved back to Greenock.
The attempt on his life on May 12 last year was in a residential area at Brachelston Street.
The gunman struck a red Kia Sportage as Khader ducked behind it, then fled in a white Hyundai Tucson SUV towards Greenock town centre.
The car was found burnt out near the town’s Coves reservoir.
Last September when Khader and his associates were arrested, an Iraqi politician said the region was “a safer place” as a result.
The gangland source told the Record: “Khader and his friends went to Iraq on holiday.
“His rival reached out and told him to go to Kurdistan so they could sort their feud out once and for all.
“Khader and an associate made their way to Kurdistan for the meeting to take place.
“The other guy suspected Khader would turn up armed. That was when the Iraqi security services arrested Khader and his associates.
“The government here claim it shows they are tackling crime and keeping the locals safe.”
This week, Police Scotland said it was still trying to trace the Greenock gunman.
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