Armed police have executed two raids at addresses in Newcastle in a joint operation as part of their search for alkali attack suspect Abdul Ezedi.

The Metropolitan Police said the warrants, including one at Ezedi’s place of work, were carried out in the early hours of this morning (February 8). No arrests were made following the raids.

This comes as the manhunt for Mr Ezedi, 35, who is accused of pouring a strong alkali on his ex-partner, and injuring her two young children, aged three and eight on January 31 in Clapham, London.

The 31-year-old may lose the sight in her right eye and remains sedated in hospital eight days on from the attack. She is still too ill to speak to police and her injuries were so severe the incident is being treated as attempted murder.

The Northern Echo: Metropolitan Police handout image taken from CCTV footage of Abdul Ezedi, the suspect in the Clapham alkaline substance attack, traveling along the Albert Embankment approaching Vauxhall Bridge.Metropolitan Police handout image taken from CCTV footage of Abdul Ezedi, the suspect in the Clapham alkaline substance attack, traveling along the Albert Embankment approaching Vauxhall Bridge. (Image: MET POLICE)

One of her daughters was also hit by the liquid while witnesses described the three-year-old girl being slammed to the ground. 

The full Metropolitan Police statement says: "Armed police have executed two raids at addresses in Newcastle as part of their search for alkali attack suspect Abdul Ezedi.

"The Metropolitan Police said the warrants, including one at Ezedi’s place of work, were carried out in the early hours of Thursday.

"No arrests have been made following the raids, which were a joint operation between the Met and Northumbria Police."

The last confirmed sighting of Mr Ezedi was at around 11pm on Wednesday January 31, a few hours after the attack, on Vauxhall Bridge Road in central London.

He was initially travelling around on the Tube network using his bank card and, after that, appears to have been walking a route that broadly hugged the River Thames.

Metropolitan Police Commander Jon Savell said on Wednesday the manhunt for Ezedi is “an incredibly high-priority attempted murder investigation”.

Turning to potential motives, he said: “They were in a relationship and that relationship had broken down.”

Ezedi, who is not the father of the children who were hurt, suffered significant facial injuries that could prove fatal if left untreated.

Detective Superintendent Rick Sewart, who is leading the hunt for the Afghan refugee, said: “The medical injuries to Mr Ezedi appear very significant from imagery that we have recovered, to the right side of his face.

“And through the National Crime Agency we have received medical interpretation which would indicate that his injuries could be potentially fatal if not treated.”

Mr Ezedi came to the UK hidden in a lorry in 2016, and was turned down twice for asylum before successfully appealing against the Home Office rejection by claiming he had converted to Christianity.

He was convicted of two sexual offences in 2018 but was allowed to stay in the UK because his crimes were not serious enough to meet the threshold for deportation.

A tribunal judge is understood to have ruled in favour of his asylum claim in 2020 after a retired Baptist church minister confirmed he had converted to Christianity, reportedly describing Mr Ezedi as “wholly committed” to his new religion.

On Wednesday, a Baptist church in Tyne and Wear confirmed it was aware of a “connection” it had with the suspect.

In a statement, the church in Jarrow said: “Grange Road Baptist Church brings together and welcomes people from all walks of life and from many different nations.

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“We are aware of the connection Abdul Shakoor Ezedi has had with our church.

“As soon as we became aware of the current situation, we made contact with and are co-operating with the relevant authorities. We are praying for all those affected by the situation.”

Investigators say they are keeping an open mind as to whether Ezedi is dead, possibly after jumping in the river, or whether he is being helped to stay hidden.