Death-Threat Kidnap Gang Jailed

Three ruthless kidnappers – who threatened to kill their terrified victim with a samurai sword in a £250,000 international plot – have been locked-up for a total of twenty-one years.

The 24 year-old victim, who was meeting one of the gang for a meal, was beaten, bundled into a car boot, tied to a chair, had a sock stuffed in his mouth and his head wrapped in tape.

Dipeshkumar Chauhan, 28, (pic. centre) of Elmsleigh Avenue, Harrow, Middlesex, lured his pal to dinner and met the victim at Kingsbury Underground Station, driving him to Cool Oak Lane, Woodfield Park, Hendon.

After a violent struggle, during which the victim was punched and kicked in the head, he was forced into the BMW’s boot and driven to a house in Glenalmond Road, Harrow.

Chauhan was sentenced to nine years imprisonment at Southwark Crown Court after a jury convicted him of kidnap, false imprisonment and blackmail following a two week trial.

Accomplices Shujah Khaliq, 26, of The Mall, Harrow, (pictured l.) and Arif Aga, 26, of Glenalmond Road, (pictured r.) pleaded guilty to the same three charges and were jailed for six years.

The victim was forced to phone his father in Gujarat, India, on October 17, last year, telling him he would be killed by the gang if the ransom was not paid.

He was held for several more days as the gang phoned his family with more threats and demands, but the relatives – who did not have the money – tipped-off police in the U.K.

Detectives from the Metropolitan Police’s Kidnap Unit identified the house in Glenalmond Road and followed Chauhan and Khaliq when they left the residence on October 20.

Chauhan was arrested driving a Skoda in Shrewsbury Lane, Harrow, and Khaliq was captured driving a van in Honeypot Lane, Queensbury.

Moments later armed cops burst into the gang’s HQ and rescued the victim, catching Aga after he threw himself through a glass back door in a futile escape bid.

DC Greg Trinder of the Kidnap Unit said: "The victim does not come from a wealthy family.

“To receive a phone call to say your son has been kidnapped and that the kidnappers want money that you do not have must have been incredibly distressing.

“I am glad that they made the right decision and contacted police immediately so that we could locate the victim and ensure that he was returned to the family safely.

"The evidence against these three individuals was overwhelming. It showed the thought and planning that had gone into the crime and their motive of greed.

“Khaliq and Aga had the sense to plead guilty but Chauhan believed he could claim the defence of duress. I am grateful the jury saw through his lies and found him guilty alongside the other two defendants.

"Kidnaps are fortunately still comparatively rare in this country. We are grateful to all those who have assisted us in our investigation, ensuring the victim was returned to his family and the three defendants were put before the courts."