Jail for gang who kidnapped, stabbed and tortured a man over 'debt'

Jailed: Six men were sent to prison over the kidnapping and torture
Metropolitan Police
Hannah Al-Othman4 February 2016
WEST END FINAL

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A group of men who kidnapped, tortured and blackmailed a man have been sent to prison for more than 70 years.

The thugs stabbed their victim with kitchen knives, beat him with an iron bar, and burned his flesh with heated metal forks.

The gang snatched their victim, a man in his 30s, from a barber's shop in west London on June 18 last year.

Four of the men; Darren Vassell aka 'Biggs', Derek Johnston, Jamal McLaughlin and Carlton Rodney said the victim owed them money and bundled him into a van - the beginning of an ordeal that was to last three days.

The man was driven around the area for several hours, while the men threatened to kill him unless he handed over £2,500 to 'Biggs'.

The man was eventually taken to a house in St Lukes Close in Uxbridge where his hands were bound together with electrical wires.

It was here that Darren Vassell, together with his brother, Marvin Vassell, Johnston, and another man, Aaron Ellis began a sadistic and sustained assault.

The victim was repeatedly hit around the head and body with an iron bar, and a computer monitor was thrown at his head.

Ellis heated a metal fork on a gas hob before repeatedly burning the victim's legs, while the brothers took turns stabbing and hacking at the victim with kitchen knives, flaying skin from his arms.

The force used was so overwhelming that it snapped the blade of a breadknife, which was later recovered from the scene.

The kidnap was captured by a CCTV camera from a nearby convenience store, and on the morning of June 20, acting on intelligence gathered by the Human Trafficking and Kidnap Unit, armed officers from the Met's Specialist Firearms Command stormed the house and freed the victim.

The man was taken to hospital by the London Ambulance Service for treatment to his injuries before being discharged several days later. He is still recovering from his ordeal.

The Vassell brothers were arrested that day, while Johnston was detained the day after, and Ellis on June 24.

McLaughlin and Rodney were later tracked down by police and arrested in August.

Detective Sergeant Tim Mustoe, from the Met's Organised Crime Command, said: "These men subjected their victim to a violent and sadistic torture over a sustained period.

"I hope today's sentences bring the victim some solace and reassure the public that the Met will relentlessly pursue those who commit crime."

The six men were sentenced at the Old Bailey on Thursday, and were jailed for a total of more than 70 years.

Four of the men, including the two brothers, pleaded guilty in October 2015.

Darren Vassell, 35, admitted to kidnap, blackmail, two counts of false imprisonment and causing grievous bodily harm, and was sentenced to a total of 18 years imprisonment.

His brother, Marvin Vassell, 40, pleaded guilty to blackmail, false imprisonment and causing grievous bodily harm, and was jailed for a total of 13 years and six months.

Derek Johnston, 40, pleaded guilty to kidnap, blackmail, two counts of false imprisonment and causing grievous bodily harm, and was ordered to spend 21 years in prison.

Aaron Ellis, 22, admitted to false imprisonment and causing grievous bodily harm, and was jailed for a total of nine years.

The other men were found guilty on January 25 after a trial.

Jamal McLaughlin, 34, was found guilty of kidnap, blackmail, false imprisonment, and received six years in prison.

Carlton Rodney, 50, was found guilty of blackmail and sentenced to a total of four years. He was found not guilty of kidnap and false imprisonment.

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