Detectives have secured the convictions of three killers who ambushed their victim on his east London doorstep and shot him in the head.
Iron Miah, 40, was attacked on Nelson Street in Shadwell, Tower Hamlets, and died in hospital two days later.
He died on November 19, 2019 but his killers were brought to justice on Tuesday after their mobile phone activity gave them away.
Mohamed Moshaer Ali, 31, from Dagenham, Antonio Afflick-McLeod, 32, of Ilford and Aaron Campbell, 32, of Fulham, were convicted of murder at the Old Bailey.
They will be sentenced on January 16.
Officers used cell site data following the discovery of burner phones that revealed key evidence of communication between the killers.
The phones have temporary numbers and are difficult to track but after working round the clock the homicide squad cracked the case.
Detective Chief Inspector David Whellams said: "My team have worked tirelessly over a long period of time to ensure that Iron’s family could receive the justice they deserve.
"This was a deliberate and callous act of violence in a residential area. Nobody deserves to be the victim of such brutality and the three people convicted today will undoubtedly spend a significant time in jail. Our streets are safer without these people at large.
"I would like to pay tribute to Iron’s family, who have been extremely supportive of the investigation in the face of a long road to justice, while living with the trauma of losing their loved one."
Murder squad detectives tracked communications that linked the defendants to the killing, despite the group’s extensive and deliberate use of disposable burner phones to communicate with each other.
In the days leading up to his murder, Mr Miah’s family described how he had been receiving a series of messages on his phone that were making him anxious.
On the night of his killing he had returned home at about 10pm and then received a call from Mohammed Ali.
After the call, he went outside and got into a Honda Civic on Nelson Street and spoke to the occupants.
Upon leaving the Honda he then sent a message on his phone saying "viewing done" to Ali.
As he walked back to his house after visiting a local shop, a man got out of the passenger door of a parked Volkswagen Polo and approached Mr Miah from behind.
The gunman fired a single shot and the bullet struck Mr Miah in the head.
He returned to the car and drove off, followed by the Honda Civic that the victim had been in earlier.
The VW Polo was on false plates and has never been recovered. Police told the court that Antonio Afflick-McLeod and Aaron Campbell were believed to be the men in the Polo.
The gun used was also never found but when Afflick-McLeod was arrested, drugs and a sawn-off-shotgun were found at his home.
The day before the murder a man bought a SIM card from a convenience store on Movers Lane in Barking.
Officers seized the CCTV and identified Afflick-McLeod by a tattoo on his neck. The SIM was crucial in the evidence and linked him to communications with Ali, the court heard.
