THREE men have been jailed for a combined total of more than 12 years after they kidnapped and blackmailed a man in Devon

Rayhan Al Din, 51, of Westrow Drive, Barking, Afshar Ali, 46, of Old Park Avenue, Canterbury and Abdul Hashem, 37, of Morley Road, London, were each jailed for four years and two months at Exeter Crown Court on Friday, September 19

A restraining order was also placed on each one, to last for 10 years.

The court heard the group kidnapped the victim, a man in his 50s, and attempted to blackmail him on Thursday, May 26, 2022.

The victim was forcibly pushed into a car in Plymouth and driven away.

During the journey, the kidnappers contacted the victim’s family and demanded they transfer £20,000 in 10 minutes, which escalated to a demand for £35,000 when the family said they could not do so in the timeframe provided.

Following a call to police, the car was stopped on M2 near Canterbury, Kent and the group was found with the victim, who said he had been assaulted and was taken to hospital for treatment.

Officers launched an investigation and charged Rayhan, Ali and Hashem with kidnap and blackmail.

All three were found guilty of the joint charge of kidnap and guilty of three counts of blackmail at a trial held at Plymouth Crown Court, which concluded in March.

A fourth man was jointly charged on all counts but failed to appear at court.

A warrant has been issued for his arrest.

Detective Constable Matthew Robinson, who led the investigation, said: ‘I would like to thank the victim in this case for his fortitude throughout this process in bringing it to court.

‘This has had a significant impact on him, and I would like to commend his courage throughout this complex investigation.

‘This type of offending is not tolerated, and I hope these sentences make it clear that we will work relentlessly to bring offenders to justice’.