Kidnappers tortured boy with iron

A SCHOOLBOY was kidnapped and tortured by a gang of men who demanded his family pay a £20,000 ransom for his release.

The terrified 16-year-old was left screaming in agony as a hot iron was placed on his skin eight times during a torture session at a Leeds house. He was also punched in the face, had a knife held to his throat and hot water poured on him, Leeds Crown Court heard yesterday.

The violence was branded "gratuitous" by Judge Rodney Grant, who said the injuries were "inflicted with the intention of causing maximum pain."

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At one point the boy, who was handcuffed, also had a pillow placed over his head, causing him breathing difficulties.

When his family said they could only come up with 1,400, a gang member warned he would be "returned in pieces" and said 1,400 was only enough for one of the boy's fingers.

Leeds Crown Court was told the blackmail plot may have been an attempt to get back a drugs debt that was owed.

The teenager was snatched from a Leeds street, dragged into a van and held against his will in the Belle Isle area of the city.

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Helen Hendry, prosecuting, said the plot was foiled when police went to the address after a neighbour reported hearing shouting and screaming.

They spoke to the boy but he was too terrified to reveal his true identity or what had happened to him.

The officers left but returned later when another Leeds police division became aware a boy had been kidnapped.

Miss Hendry said the gang members had not been careful to conceal their identities from the boy, showing a "certain degree of arrogance".

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Members of the gang also used their own mobile phones, enabling officers to build up a case against each man.

The court was told the boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was made to speak to his brother on a mobile phone while held captive.

He told his brother: "I was kidnapped. They are going to kill me. They want 20,000."

A gang member then told the brother: "I want 20,000 or I'm going to kill him."

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The court heard the teenager was left with a catalogue of injuries, including burn imprints on his legs in the shape of an iron. A burn on his thigh caused by hot or boiling water was in the same place as an iron burn.

Six months after his ordeal he was too frightened to attend school, was having sleepless nights and suffering headaches.

Five Leeds men had pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to charges including conspiracy to kidnap and blackmail, which can carry lengthy jail sentences.

The prosecution say that although some were not directly involved in violence they were part of a "joint enterprise". They will be sentenced tomorrow.

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Shaheed Rahman, 24, of Harehills Avenue, Chapeltown, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to kidnap and blackmail. He denied being the plot's instigator but admitted using the iron to burn the boy.

Syed Ahmed, 24, of Park Home Avenue, Harehills, also admitted conspiracy to kidnap and blackmail. He said he was recruited by others and admitted punching the teenager.

Shuel Ali Hussain, 28, of Karnac Road, Chapeltown, his brother Hassan Ahmed, 25, also of Karnac Road, and Abdul Rajaque, 29, Shepherds Place, Chapeltown, each admitted conspiracy to blackmail. All three said they were not involved in the violence. Rajaque, the driver, had lost his job because of his involvement.

A sixth man, Ibrahim Majid, known by his street name Biggie, is still wanted by police and is believed to be in Bangladesh.

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