A COURIER working for a Southampton drugs gang was robbed and murdered after being lured into an ambush, a court was told.

Shkelzen Dauti, 21, was stabbed by two men who could not pay for the cocaine they had ordered, Winchester Crown Court was told.

Tahir Khan, QC, prosecuting said Mr Dauti, who had just got engaged, suffered a knife wound to the heart and died at the scene.

He added that the killers “celebrated” their crime by visiting a brothel in Reading, where they spent the money they had stolen from their victim.

Mr Khan was opening the prosecution case against Lee Marc Williams and Christopher Jones, who are accused of murdering and robbing Mr Dauti.

Jones is also accused of possessing a knife in a public place.

Mr Khan told Winchester Crown Court: “As an illegal immigrant Dauti would have no legitimate way of earning money.

“He was living in shared accommodation at Duncan Close, Southampton, and earned money working for a cocaine-dealing gang operating in the Southampton area.

“The evidence will show that he acted on the instructions of others higher up the chain of command by delivering drugs to the customers of those who employed him.

“This type of drug supply is sometimes referred to as ‘dial a dealer’.”

Mr Khan said Mr Dauti, known as Genny, was told to go to Gilpin Close, Thornhill, in the early hours of March 11 this year.

He added: “The two defendants had ordered cocaine, which they knew they could not pay for.

“They intended to rob the delivery driver and had armed themselves with knives.

“When Dauti arrived, he was stabbed in the chest and died at the scene.”

Mr Khan said Williams and Jones, whom he described as “desperate for cocaine”, placed an order with the gang and waited for a delivery driver to arrive with the drugs.

He added: “They intended to rob whoever came and make a quick getaway before the alarm was raised.

“We say that is precisely what they did and that the evidence proves it.”

Mr Khan said the two men carried out the murder after visiting a friend, Amy Travers, who lived in a flat at Gilpin Close.

He told the court: “They packed their bags and loaded them into a black Ford Fiesta.

“Having done that each man picked up a knife from a knife block that was in the kitchen.

“The two defendants selected the two largest knives.

“This was a deliberate decision and demonstrates their intention to attack the delivery driver and inflict really serious harm on him in order to effect a robbery.”

Mr Khan said Williams stabbed Mr Dauti, inflicting a single that resulted in the knife penetrating the victim’s heart.

He added: “Williams says he acted in self-defence but Dauti, making a delivery on his own, was outnumbered two to one.

“Each of the defendants was carrying a large knife.

“No weapon was found in Dauti’s car, so the defendants attacked an unarmed man who was posing no threat to them.

“That’s not self-defence.”

Mr Khan said the killers fled the scene after stealing Mr Dauti’s mobile phone, wallet and car keys.

Williams, 27, of Lixwm in Flintshire, Wales, and Jones, also 27, of Denbigh, Denbighshire, Wales, plead not guilty to robbing and murdering Mr Dauti.

Jones also denies possessing a knife in a public place.

Mr Khan told the jury of five men and seven women that Williams had admitted possessing a knife in a public place.

The trial continues.