A BURTON taxi driver was lured into a blackmail trap by a 16-year-old married girl and forced into handing over a £3,000 ransom at knifepoint, a court has heard.
Cabbie Zafar Chaudry was kept prisoner at a house in Branston where Azhar Hussain threatened to break his legs and accused him of having sex with his wife, Naila Nisar, Stafford Crown Court was told.
The couple demanded £10,000 to let him go, but a terrified Mr Chaudry managed to persuade a colleague to bring over £3,000.
The money was handed over through an open window, with Hussain holding a knife to the cabbie’s ribs, said Eugene Hickey, prosecuting.
Hussain, 23, of Bramwell Close, Branston, was jailed for six years and nine months and his wife, now 17, was sentenced to three years and nine months’ youth custody. They both admitted blackmail and false imprisonment.
Judge John Maxell told her: “You played a central role in this – it was you who lured this man to the house, you who got the knife for your husband.
“You, Hussain, have a previous conviction for robbery. You quite clearly worked with your wife, arranging for this man to come to this house. Your wife pretended that she was alone, that you had left her.
Within moments, you pretended to be angry, you pretended he was trying to seduce your wife and you held him prisoner. You threatened him, your wife got the knife for you and you wholly terrified him.
“It is true that you didn’t injure him physically, but you did a lot of harm psychologically.” The judge was told that Nisar set out to befriend Mr Chaudry with a sob-story about being abandoned by a violent husband and needing somewhere to rent.
The cabbie offered to ask around people he knew with properties to rent and even offered to lend her £50 because she claimed she had no food.
Mr Hickey said she text messaged him saying she liked him and told him she had found a place in Branston. On April 15, she rang him to ask for a lift into town. When he got to the house in Branston, she invited him in, saying she was not ready.
Within minutes Hussain appeared, locked the front door and accused Mr Chaudry of wanting sex with his wife.
“She was simply smiling,” said Mr Hickey.
The cabbie was made to hand over his car keys and wallet and Hussain made a phone call so that the victim could hear, saying: “We’re going to rape him and break his legs. We’ll put him in the boot and break his legs”.
A demand was made for £10,000 to let him go. Mr Chaudry said he couldn’t pay that, but called a colleague, who brought over £3,000 in cash, handed over through the window.
“While that was going on, the male defendant was holding the knife to his ribs.” Before being released, he was told he had to pay another £7,000 and warned by Hussain that if he went to the police “I’ll kill you and kidnap your kids and blow up your cars”.
The cabbie did tell the police and officers swooped on the house the next day to arrest the couple.
In a victim impact statement, Mr Chaudry said he was so shaken by the experience he had been unable to work and had also been left in debt.
His credibility in the community had also been affected.
“The rumours are not true. As a taxi driver I was an easy target.
It’s caused a great deal of distress in the family.” Andrew Davidson, for Hussain, said the couple had married against their families’ wishes and found themselves isolated in the community.
“This was not gang related – it was an unsophisticated and naive attempt to get money.” Mark Nicholls, for Nisar, said she had now been ostracised by her family. The couple had married in January this year.