Pair in kidnap and torture of family man on gangster’s orders, court hears

TWO drug dealers who abducted a man on the orders of a notorious gangster before leaving him in the street to die were jailed today.

Blaize Lunkulu, 25, and Vikar Khan, 22, kidnapped 24 year-old Syed Shazad Abbass (pictured) as he arrived back at his family home in Forest Gate in the early hours.

Over the next two hours he was choked with a noose, beaten about the face, burnt with a lighter and jabbed in the back with a knife.

Later that morning he was found lying on the pavement in just his boxer shorts in East Ham.

He died in hospital the next day after suffering serious head injuries including a brain haemorrhage.

The Old Bailey heard the torture was orchestrated by a well known local criminal known as ‘Reds’ because the victim owed him cash and drugs.

Although ‘Reds’ was never brought before the court, Lunkulu and Khan were originally charged with murder.

They later pleaded guilty to manslaughter, conspiracy to kidnap and conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.

Lunkulu from Tottenham was jailed indefinitely with a minimum of six years and four months before parole after Judge Stephen Kramer QC ruled he was a danger to the public.

Khan, from Walthamstow who claims he did not take part in the violence after the initial abduction, was given a determinate nine year jail sentence.

Judge Kramer said: “The circumstances of the offences are truly horrific.

“You and the deceased were involved in the drugs scene. He apparently owed drugs and cash to a man called Reds, described as a local hardman with a well-known reputation for violence.”

Neighbours saw Mr Abbass being kidnapped outside his family home in Earlham Grove at around 3.30am on September 7 last year.

He was beaten about the head and was dragged into his own Audi car using a large strap or dog collar around his head.

The victim was taken to Flanders Road in East Ham where he was tortured by ‘Reds’ to get him to reveal the location of drugs and cash.

“The reality was very different. As a direct result of their actions, a family has lost a son and brother and no custodial sentence can compensate for that.”