Three man jailed for more than 30 years for kidnap and torture plot as police release kidnap footage

  • Watch the moment three men dressed as police officers kidnap an unsuspecting man on the street

Three men have been jailed for a combined total of 31 years for their part in the kidnap, torture and blackmail of a man in his 30s.

Shaun Freeman, Delroy Chin and Micah Walfall were jailed on Friday for 9 years, 11 years and 11 years and 3 months respectively.

Walfall pleaded guilty to conspiracy to kidnap at an earlier court appearance having fled the country following the kidnap and was eventually tracked down in Spain.

Freeman and Chin were found guilty following a trial at Manchester Crown Court in April this year. Five other man have also been convicted of taking part previously.

Micah Walfall - sentenced to 11 years and 3 months Credit: Greater Manchester Police

The kidnapping took place on Thursday 11 April 2019. The victim was approached by three men, who were misleadingly dressed as police officers and falsely arrested him, placing him into the back of a black Audi vehicle which had false number plates.

They drove the victim to a back street in Gorton where they dragged him out from the car, put a hood over his head, held a gun to his head and put him in a van which drove to a building in the area.

The victim was held for 13 hours where the group threatened him using an imitation firearm as well as brutally torturing him, using weapons such as a blowtorch and taser, in order to scare him into co-operating with their demands.

The group contacted members of the victim’s family and demanded a ransom which they eventually demanded be delivered to an address in Birmingham.

The investigation identified that in the preceding weeks a tracker had been deployed on the underside of the victim’s vehicle by Chin. He had been lured to the Parrswood Centre by Freeman to eat at Nando’s.

Chin collected Walfall and Barnes from Birmingham as they travelled south after the kidnap had taken place.

Chin’s DNA was found on a balaclava recovered from a kit bag in the rear of the black Audi which was still in the lock up when police raided it. A set of handcuffs and another tracker were also located within his home when it was searched.

  • Watch the moment Greater Manchester Police raid a lockup as they execute an arrest warrant

Detective Sergeant Mark Evans said: “This was a lengthy investigation and I am pleased that today we have concluded proceedings by locking up the final three members involved in this plot.

“Freeman was a friend of the victim, regularly playing football with him. As well as luring the victim to the Parrswood Centre, he also recorded the vehicle registration of the victim in his mobile phone, along with the names of the victim’s family members.

“He sourced the lockup used to hold the victim and met with the kidnap team in the days before the actual kidnap, travelling in convoy with their vehicles from the lockup where the victim would eventually be held on a visit to a pub in Alderley Edge, which was set up as the original drop location for the ransom money.

“We hope this provides some closure for the victim and their family and they can finally move forward with their lives. I would like to thank them for their patience and assistance with this investigation.”