Birmingham torture horror: Cousins face jail over £3m ransom kidnap

Two Birmingham men kidnapped a young man, held him captive for days, tortured him, and demanded £3m in ransom before leaving him seriously injured in the street.

Two Birmingham men are facing lengthy prison sentences after being convicted of the kidnap, prolonged and violent assault of a man who was abducted from a Lozells street and held captive for several days at a flat in Edgbaston.

Miles Blakeney and Luke Hazell, both aged 37, were found guilty at Birmingham Crown Court of conspiracy to kidnap, false imprisonment, blackmail and wounding with intent following a trial concerning events in January 2023. The court heard the victim, a man in his 20s, was left with life-changing injuries after being restrained, assaulted and tortured while demands for money were made on his behalf.

The prosecution case established that shortly before 8pm on 21 January 2023 a Land Rover pulled up on Anglesey Street in Lozells. A group of men wearing balaclavas got out of the vehicle, chased the victim and forced him inside the car. His coat was removed and his head was covered before the vehicle drove away from the scene.

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The Land Rover was driven to a flat approximately two miles away in Edgbaston, where the victim was held against his will. Just after 8.10pm a relative contacted police to report the kidnap. The court heard that the victim later managed to telephone another relative from a withheld number, during which he sounded distressed and said he had been kidnapped and that those holding him were demanding £3 million.

In the early hours of the following day, the victim attempted to escape after a man guarding him fell asleep. He struck the guard with a vodka bottle but was unsuccessful and remained detained. Over the next several days he was restrained and subjected to further violence, including having boiling water poured over him.

Shortly before 10pm on 26 January 2023, the victim was released and left naked in the street. He was found by a member of the public, who raised the alarm, and he was taken for medical treatment for serious injuries.

A major investigation involving mobile phone analysis, vehicle tracking and forensic evidence linked Hazell and Blakeney to the offences. Prosecutors told the court that Hazell had arranged the kidnap, while Blakeney was responsible for the flat where the victim was held. Messages recovered from mobile phones showed the pair had discussed earlier failed attempts to abduct the victim in the days leading up to the incident.

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Although neither defendant was shown to have physically seized the victim from the street, the jury heard that Blakeney was present at the flat when the victim was brought there, and that Hazell later attended the address after the failed escape attempt and personally carried out assaults causing serious injury.

Hazell, of Dovedale Road, Birmingham, and Blakeney, of Ashley Close, Birmingham, were convicted on Friday following the jury’s verdicts. The case was adjourned for sentencing, with both men due to return to court on 27 March, when they are expected to receive substantial custodial sentences.