Gang found guilty of kidnapping and torturing man in Luton

Six men have been convicted of kidnapping a man off the streets of Luton last year, 'terrorising and torturing' him for over 30 hours.
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Scales of justice

Mohammed Yousaf, 22, Muhammed Hussain, 25, Jalil Uddin, 40, Saqib Rehman, 20, and a 17-year-old boy all pleaded guilty to a string of offences including kidnap, false imprisonment and blackmail after a man was kidnapped from Downs Road on Monday 20 June 2016.

The group bundled the victim into the back of a car at gun point in the early hours of the morning before taking him to an address in Ashburnham Road where he was held against his will for around 30 hours.

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During this time the group made a number of calls to a friend of the victim, who they believed was responsible for stealing £60,000 worth of drugs from them. In the calls they made threats to harm the victim and other family members if the drugs were not returned.

The following morning, the victim was abandoned and left tied to the metal gate of a farm near Kensworth, at which point he was able to free himself and make his way home.

He was beaten and bruised during the ordeal but did not sustain significant injuries.

An investigation ran by the Beds, Cambs and Herts major crime unit led to six men were arrested and charged.

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The sixth man, Mitchell Malik, 21, was found guilty of false imprisonment, blackmail, and possession of a firearm following the trial at Luton Crown Court, which concluded today.

Several weapons including guns were also found during police searches at both the address where the victim was held hostage and some of the home addresses of the offenders.

During the trial of Malik, the jury heard how at one point a gun was placed inside the mouth of the victim.

Det Ch Inspector Adam Gallop said: “This was a truly shocking incident in which an innocent young man was kidnapped at gun point before being terrorised and tortured - purely because these criminal thugs thought that he associated with people who may have stolen drugs belonging to them.

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“This has understandably had a big psychological effect on the victim and I hope that these convictions will allow him to begin to put this extremely traumatic incident behind him and start to move forward with his life.”

Sentencing will take place at Luton Crown Court at a later date.

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