Top UK rapper shot man in the head and mouth in ‘savage’ drive-by attack

A rapper who once reached the UK Top 20 shot a Londoner in the head in a drive-by attack in Notting Hill.

Nathan Tokosi, also known as DigDat, severely injured Daniel Offei-Ntow, 27, as he sat in his car in Notting Hill, west London, early on November 20 2023.

The rapper, 25, of Deptford, south-east London, was found guilty of attempted murder and possessing a self-loading pistol and ammunition, both with intent to endanger life.

He was also found guilty of possessing a prohibited firearm and ammunition.

Tokosi, whose single Air Force peaked at number 20 on the UK singles chart, was one of at least two people in a stolen Audi that pulled up beside Mr Offei-Ntow’s Mitsubishi, prosecutor Kate Bex KC told the Old Bailey.

At least six shots were fired from a rear passenger window, hitting Mr Offei-Ntow in the head, mouth and body, and he was ‘lucky not to die’.

Officers found the victim’s Mitsubishi Outlander riddled with bullet holes and the interior covered in blood.

They followed a trail of blood and found Mr Offei-Ntow had returned to his flat and was sitting on a sofa ‘in shock and severely injured’.

Police dogs recovered a latex glove and a black bag containing a firearm and three rounds of ammunition near to where the Audi was abandoned.

Further inquiries revealed that Tokosi had borrowed a BMW to make two trips on consecutive nights from his father’s home in Deptford, south-east London, to Notting Hill that weekend, the jury heard.

Ms Bex said it was clear Tokosi was involved in the shooting and there was no ‘innocent explanation’ for the BMW and the Audi being in the same west London location.

Investigators found DNA allegedly belonging Tokosi and artist Kamal Benjamin, aka Wesson, in the Audi used in the shooting.

But further evidence, including Mr Benjamin’s Instagram posts from Dubai, suggested he had left the UK days before, jurors were told.

Mr Benjamin posted a video on Instagram of Lil Durk, who had performed in Dubai four days before the shooting.

Another post the following month showed him in a nightclub with rapper 50 Cent, who had performed in Dubai on December 21 2023.

Sentencing was adjourned to a date yet to be fixed.

Detective Constable Hannah Forrest, from the Met’s Specialist Crime South team, said: ‘This was a savage attack, with the victim requiring emergency surgery after being shot in the body, mouth and head. The verdict in this case shows that this violent criminality will not be tolerated on London’s streets.

‘Tokosi is a highly dangerous individual, who had – at the time of the shooting – only just been released from prison after serving time for a separate offence.

‘I would like to pay tribute to the investigation team in this case, who were able to build a compelling forensic case against Tokosi. This proved indispensable at trial.’

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.