Cricklewood kidnap: Four jailed for holding man in flat

Mariglen Elezi, 30, of Dean Road in Willesden Green and Hydajet Kadriu, 23, of Cricklewood Broadway in Willesden were each sentenced to four years' imprisonment at Amersham Crown Court yesterday (September 22).

Ervis Ademi, 22, of Bedivere Road in south London's Bromley and Xhekson Malollar, 31, of Wykebeck Valley Road in Leeds were sentenced at the same court to ten years' imprisonment.

This comes after an Italian man in his 30s was kidnapped and held for 36 hours in a flat in Dean Road, Willesden, before being rescued at around 12.30pm on February 18 by police.

Detective Constable Tom Waller who led the investigation said: “This kidnapping was an appalling pre-planned attack on a man who suffered a terrifying ordeal."

On Monday (September 18), the four men were convicted of false imprisonment at Reading Crown Court.

Malollari and Elezi were also found guilty of conspiracy to kidnap, and Elezi was additionally found guilty of possessing a small amount of cocaine.

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L-R: Elezi and Kadriu of north London face four years in prison (Image: Met Police)

Two men had lured the victim to a bar in Cricklewood Broadway, allegedly in respect of a drug debt owed by his friend for around £40,000.

Shortly after the three men left together and they walked down Richborough Street.

They were then approached by two other men wearing balaclavas, who bundled the victim into a car and took him to their Dean Road flat.

One of the men had a knife and the victim received some cuts during the scuffle.

While the man was held in the flat, he made several phone calls to his ex-partner and to friends to try to raise funds to meet a £110,000 demand.

Police became aware of the kidnap and started an investigation, before going to the area at 2am on February 17 to watch the flat.

At around 12:30pm the next day (Feburary 18), armed police entered the flat and freed the victim, who was then taken to hospital with stab wounds, bruising and grazes.

Officers arrested Malollari and Elezi in the flat and chased Ademi and Kadriu, who had jumped out of a window to escape.

The pair was arrested outside the building.

After the arrests, police searched the flat and found evidence including balaclavas, blood-stained tissues, mobile phones and keys to a car which was at the scene of the kidnap on February 16.

Police obtained the bar's CCTV footage and identified Malollari as one of the men who met the victim in the bar.

They also secured footage from another nearby business and identified the same car at the scene of the kidnapping, and parked outside the flat in Dean Road.

There were incriminating photos and messages on the phones and a video showed the victim with various injuries, answering questions about money and pleading with the questioner not to kill him.

“The Met is committed to making the streets of London safer and thanks to the dedicated work of the officers involved in this operation, these four men have been brought to justice," Det. Cons. Waller added.