Three men jailed for involvement in kidnap, torture and blackmail plot
Another five people have been given sentences for their own roles
Last updated 18 hours ago
Three men have been handed sentences for their part in a plot to kidnap, torture and blackmail a man from Manchester.
The incident took place on April 11th, 2019 - and involved a number of men who led the victim into the back of a black Audi which had false number plates.
Having dressed as police officers, the perpetrators took the victim to Gorton, where he was dragged out of the car, had a hood placed on his head and then held at gunpoint before being thrown into a van that was driven to another building.
After being let out of the van, the man was left in the building for 13 hours, during which time, he was tortured using a blowtorch and a taser to force him to co-operate with their demands.
Eventually, the group demanded a ransom be paid for his release - which would be paid to a property with an address in Birmingham.
Previously, five other people had been convicted for their own roles in the plot - with one person now being released from prison.
At the hearing, which took place on January 10th, 2020, the men - from both Manchester and Northampton - were sentenced to a total of nearly 44 years in prison on charges of conspiracy to kidnap and conspiracy to blackmail.
Now, an added three men have been handed their own sentences at the final hearing of the trial on Friday (November 22nd) at Manchester Crown Court.
Shaun Freeman, 30 - from Rosshill Walk in Manchester - was sentenced to nine years in prison.
Delroy Chin, aged 47 and from Woodstock, Billing Road in Northampton was sentenced to 11 years in prison.
Micah Walfall, aged 40 and from Pen Court, Northampton was sentenced to 11 years and three months in prison.
All the men were eventually found and rounded up by police in the UK - other than Walfall, who had fled the country and moved to Spain.
Speaking on the results of the trial, Detective Sergeant Mark Evans from Greater Manchester Police's Major Incident Team welcomed the verdicts.
"This was a lengthy investigation and I am pleased that today we have concluded proceedings by locking up the final three members involved in this plot.
"Freeman was a friend of the victim, regularly playing football with him. As well as luring the victim to the Parrs Wood Centre, he also recorded the vehicle registration of the victim in his mobile phone, along with the names of the victim’s family members.
"He sourced the lockup used to hold the victim and met with the kidnap team in the days before the actual kidnap, travelling in convoy with their vehicles from the lockup where the victim would eventually be held on a visit to a pub in Alderley Edge, which was set up as the original drop location for the ransom money.
"We hope this provides some closure for the victim and their family and they can finally move forward with their lives. I would like to thank them for their patience and assistance with this investigation.”