Three men jailed for kidnapping of Blackburn man
The kidnapping occurred in broad daylight in a Tesco carpark
Three people have been jailed for kidnapping a man in Blackburn back in March of this year.
It happened at the Blackburn Tesco superstore when members of the public spotted a man being taken and forced into a car against his will.
Three men, who are now known to be defendants Gratas Mitkus, 25, of no fixed address, Mantas Vitkus, 26, of Holland Street, Hull, and Liudvitkas Luksys, 25, of no fixed address, were charged with kidnap and affray, and pleaded guilty to affray and were sentenced at Preston Crown Court earlier this week.
Liudukas and Vitkus were jailed for 15 months and Mitkus received 17 months custody.
How did the kidnapping unfold?
CCTV showed the victim – a man in his 20s – drive into the carpark in Hill Street in a Skoda Octavia and walk towards the trolley shelter with a second man.
The three men captured the victim and took him back to his Skoda, before driving off. The man the victim was with ran into the store and raised the alarm.
CCTV enquiries found the Skoda was seen to leave along Burnley Road and then turn into Gloucester Road. It is believed the victim was at an address in that road with the defendants for around 20 minutes.
Further enquiries showed the defendants return to Tesco around 12.40pm where they collected the car in which they had arrived in 20 minutes earlier.
Following a number of enquiries all three were arrested on the M62 at 7pm.
In the boot of one of the defendants’ vehicles, officers found a pair of work gloves, some thick adhesive tape, a crow-bar and a new role of black bin-liners. A knife-sharpening iron was recovered from the side of the driver’s seat.
A considerable amount of work, including witness appeals, was put into locating the victim.
"The victim is now safe and well"
DC Hazel Richardson, of East CID, said: “These three defendants took a man against his will in broad daylight and their behaviour left all who saw it shocked and concerned for the victim’s welfare. I am sure they will all be relieved to know the victim is now safe and well.
“This type of behaviour will not be tolerated by Lancashire Police and we will use all the resources available to us ensure victims are kept safe and that offenders are brought to justice.
“This was an extremely complex investigation, involving colleagues from a number of departments. I would like to thank my colleagues, including officers from West Yorkshire and Greater Manchester Police, for their diligent work in ensuring these defendants were quickly identified, arrested and brought before the court. I would also like to thank the public for their ongoing support.”