A young man was bundled into the boot of a car and taken to a storage unit where he was tortured by his kidnappers, before managing to escape later that day.
Kidnapping in Arleston
Four masked men dragged the 21-year-old victim from an address in the Arleston area of Telford, Shropshire, and forced him into the boot of a black Audi A4. The kidnapping occurred at around 2.18pm on Monday, December 29, last year.
CCTV showed the vehicle speeding away from the scene and travelling through Wellington, Telford, with the boot still open and the victim's legs dangling out. The driver stopped along the way while two suspects closed the boot, before the kidnappers continued to a storage unit in Eyton.
Violent attack at storage unit
At the storage unit, the man was taken inside and violently attacked. Four men pleaded guilty to kidnap earlier this year: Jawad Hussain, 20, Ehteshan Hussain, 22, Faheem Chohan, 23, and Shayyan Hussain, 24. A fifth man, Haider Ali, 22, was found guilty of the same charge on June 16.
After the victim was taken inside the unit, Ali arrived 20 minutes later in a Volkswagen Passat. He left the scene around 10 minutes later, followed by two of the kidnappers in the Audi. Both vehicles drove to Lilleshall Golf Club, where the Audi was dumped, and the kidnappers switched to the VW. The two kidnappers were dropped off at a different address in Arleston, while Ali returned to the storage unit to collect the remaining two kidnappers and left at around 3.44pm.
Victim left tied to a chair
Jurors in Ali's trial heard that the victim was left locked inside the unit and tied to a chair. The abandoned Audi was later reported to police. Officers used CCTV to identify the VW and subsequently Ali. He was arrested on suspicion of kidnap at 4.53pm.
Further CCTV showed Ali taking multiple phone calls from the four men, including a call two minutes after the kidnap while in Telford Centre. While Ali was in police custody, a video of the victim being tortured was sent to his phone at 7.11pm. This evidence helped officers identify the other four kidnappers.
Escape and arrests
Following Ali's arrest, the four men returned to the unit and placed the victim in a car before driving towards North Shropshire. At 9.58pm, police received a call from a takeaway in Whitchurch reporting that a man had escaped kidnap and was seriously injured. Officers attended and identified the man as the victim.
The victim told officers that while two suspects were out of the car, he locked the doors and, noticing the keys were in the ignition, drove to safety. He was taken to hospital for treatment. He also confirmed the identities of the other four men, leading to the arrests of three, while Shayyan Hussain handed himself in later that day.
All five men were charged with kidnap. Jawad Hussain, of Windsor Road, Arleston; Ehteshan Hussain, of Princess Avenue, Arleston; Faheem Chohan, of Windsor Road, Arleston; and Shayyan Hussain, of John Broad Avenue, Arleston, pleaded guilty in January. Ali, of Montgomery Road, Wellington, was found guilty after a trial at Shrewsbury Crown Court. All five are due to be sentenced at a later date at the same court. A sixth man stood trial but was found not guilty.
Police statement
Detective Chief Inspector Lee Holeshouse, from the Major Investigations Unit, said: "This was a shocking and deeply disturbing attack in which a young man was kidnapped in broad daylight, subjected to a sustained and brutal assault, and held against his will. The actions of all five men involved show a complete disregard for human life and the law, and the level of violence and intimidation used is utterly unacceptable. I welcome yesterday's verdict against Haider Ali, which means five men involved in this appalling crime have now been held to account for their actions. I would like to commend the bravery of the victim in escaping such terrifying circumstances, and the determination of officers whose swift and thorough investigation within those first 24 hours, and afterwards, brought those responsible to justice. Our communities should be reassured that this kind of criminality will not be tolerated, and we will continue to pursue those who pose a danger to others."
