A gang of nine thugs kidnapped three men and tortured them with knives and boiling water to get them to hand over cash and expensive jewellery.
One victim was kidnapped outside his home in London in November 2018 after he was seen wearing a Rolex watch in a Snapchat image and was lured into meeting on the pretence of discussing cannabis.
He was tortured for eight hours then forced to arrange for money and the luxury watch to be handed over before being released.
Another man was stripped, tied up, waterboarded and beaten for 27 hours before being forced to ask friends to give the attackers a £50,000 ransom, while being threatened with guns and knives at a flat in Cardiff in December 2020.
He was taken to another stronghold in Hertfordshire where the horrifying ordeal continued.
Members of the gang carried on threatening and intimidating him, while again waterboarding the terrified man and pushing his head into a toilet.
A dangerous viciously trained attack dog was also used to frighten him as he was threatened with a gun and a knife.
He was eventually rescued by armed police.
A third victim was also held and tortured at the same Cardiff flat in 2020.
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Ringleader, Fortune Lawson, was jailed today for masterminding both Cardiff plots, as well for the kidnap, false imprisonment and torture of the third victim in London two years earlier.
Eight other members of the gang – all having been involved in at least one of the three plots – were also sentenced at Cardiff Crown Court to between 25 and six years in prison.
The case has been described as one of the UK’s most complicated kidnap investigations in recent times.
Davood Assadpour and Micaiah Marley were jailed for 15 years, Arnold Fumemeya and Alexis Mutesa for 13 years, Gideon Lawson for 12 years, Ahmed Omar for nine years, Stephen Isaac for six years and Denis Delishaj for eight years as well as eight months for having a phone in prison.
During the trial, the victim told the court: “The police saved my life. I don’t believe I would have been alive unless the police came that day. I’m 100% sure.
“I don’t know what the reason they wanted me dead, but I’m 100% sure I would not be alive.”
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During raids at the properties, weapons including six knives, five live rounds of ammunition, a handgun with a Swastika on the handle, a grenade smoke bomb, and a taser disguised as a mobile telephone were discovered.
Jenny Hopkins, CPS Cymru-Wales chief crown prosecutor, said after the sentencing: “The torture suffered by the victims in this case is almost beyond belief. In their pursuit of money, those responsible were seemingly willing to inflict maximum suffering.
“The ringleader and mastermind, Fortune Lawson, planned the extortions like military operations. He targeted men who trusted him and who he had identified as possessing high-value goods or significant amounts of money.
“Others in the gang had varying roles – but each was aware of the terrifying ordeal the victims were being put through. They all took steps to avoid being implicated, including wearing masks, balaclavas and gloves.
“Thankfully these dangerous and violent men have now been brought to justice, but the suffering of the victims and the impact of their injuries goes on.”
