Three gang members who kidnapped a pregnant woman outside her home in Enfield in a bid to extort cash and jewels have been jailed. Audi Johnson, Ahmad Ghiasi and Nicholas Mitchell grabbed their terrified victim as she waited for a taxi on the morning of May 10, 2024.
The trio threw the 36-year-old, who was in the second trimester, into a van before binding her hands with cables ties, blindfolding her and driving away. They demanded to know information about her partner, with one stating “If you lie to me I’m gonna kick the baby out your stomach.”
In a series of phone calls, the men told her partner they would cut off the victim’s fingers if he did not hand over money and valuable jewellery. The woman was later left alone in the van and managed to escape, fleeing to the safety of her mother’s house.
Police were able to catch the suspect white Ford transit van on CCTV and located it the same night. Officers were then able to identify the three kidnappers using DNA evidence, fingerprint impressions and mobile phone data.
The trio were found guilty of conspiracy to kidnap on Tuesday, June 3, following a six-week trial at Kingston Crown Court. They have since been sentenced to a combined 21 years behind bars.
Johnson, 35, of Cranberry Close, Northolt had previously pleaded guilty and was handed five years and four months. Ghiasi, 26, of Fourth Avenue, Luton and Mitchell, 55, of Mannock Close, Barnet were given seven years and nine years, respectively.
During the trial, jurors heard the men belonged to a London-based gang and had been contracted to carry out the kidnapping. Detective Inspector Ari Yoganathan, of the Met’s specialist Flying Squad, said the verdict should act as warning to such groups.
They added: “The victim was leaving her home to see her personal trainer on a morning that should have been like any other. That a pregnant mother should be bundled into a van and kidnapped from outside her home, bound and subjected to horrific threats is a disgusting and terrifying crime.
“This verdict shows how we are taking the fight to criminal gangs and committed to supporting the local communities they intimidate and threaten.”
In a victim impact statement, the kidnapped woman shared she has been unable to return home since the traumatic ordeal, and spent the rest of her pregnancy sleeping on her sister’s couch.
She said: “The incident ruined my life. I will never be the same person again. I am having to start my life all over again.
“I will forever have fear and paranoia as part of my life now. I didn’t deserve to be a victim of what happened to me. And to top it off, it was all made so much worse by being pregnant.
“This will always be something that will be part of my pregnancy, which is meant to be a happy experience, and will always be something that is a part of my daughter.”
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