Heywood man sentenced to 11 years+ for kidnap

Darren Wright of Thorn Close, Heywood

Darren Wright, 31, of Thorn Close, Heywood, a former Royal Artillery lance bombardier who was the gang leader and brains behind the kidnapping of a Glasgow businessman for a £2.5million ransom, got 11 years and three months at the High Court in Glasgow today, Tuesday 26 June, after the UK's longest ever kidnapping case - which involved 800 officers - Judge Lord Hodge sentenced Wright and the rest of his kidnap gang, who were rounded up after a £400,000 bait was taken in a huge police operation for a total of almost 43 years.
 
Terrified shopkeeper Javed Mukhtar, 58, was led at gunpoint from his bungalow in Shawmoss Road, Crossmyloof, Glasgow, by hooded men in army combat gear who stormed in looking for his son Bilal, 25.

He was bundled into the back of a van and spent 25 days in captivity. He was handcuffed and hooded, with his legs either in irons or taped.

His family were told in phone calls he would be seriously injured, even murdered, if they didn't pay the ransom.

Mr Mukhtar was held captive at three different "strongholds" more than 200 miles away in Greater Manchester.

He was only released after undercover police handed over £400,000 in cash given to them by a bank after the Mukhtar family guaranteed it if the operation failed.

To insure things didn't go wrong police hid a tracking device in the suitcase.

Lord Hodge told the gang: "It's clear you were providing a professional criminal service for financial gain to other persons who are unknown."

He said Mr Mukhtar and his family had gone through an "absolutely terrible experience" after he was kidnapped on September 29 2006.