Shocking footage shows man driving victim in back of van in £300k blackmail plot
Armed officers stopped the transit van as part of a blackmail investigation
This is the moment armed police caught a man driving a victim in the back of his van in a £300,000 blackmail plot.
The video shows Darren McLean, 38, being arrested by officers for his involvement in a plot to blackmail two brothers.
Wood Green Crown Court heard how two brothers travelled from their home in Stoke-on-Trent to London in July 2020.
The brothers were held captive at a travellers' site at Smithy Fen, Cambridgeshire.
They were forced to call their relatives to get over £300,000 to release one of the brothers.
The demand calls continued for the next few days, but on July 16, armed police stopped a yellow transit van leaving the site.
Body-cam footage shows officers approaching the van. McLean was causing deliberate damage to a mobile phone which was later identified as being one of the phones used to make threats and demands.
Police found one of the victims inside the back, lying on a mattress.
McLean claimed he was a "mate'", but the victim reported being threatened with violence and racially abused.
In January, McLean, of Hackney, London, was found guilty of two charges of conspiracy to blackmail and one count of conspiracy to falsely imprison.
He was jailed for 10 years and has received another five years for unrelated offences.
Speaking after the case, Staffordshire Police's Deputy Senior Investigating Officer, Detective Sergeant Garry Jackson said: “This was a terrifying experience for the victims. It also had a profound impact on their family members and friends.
“We’re pleased that McLean will now be serving a substantial sentence which reflects the seriousness of this disturbing crime.”
Five others were arrested and charged as part of the police investigation investigation and found not guilty during the trial.
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