A GANG of men have been jailed for kidnapping a cash and carry manager and robbing the Grantham cash and carry where he worked.
The four men put their victim through a terrifying ordeal in order to get inside Booker cash and carry, in Gonerby Road, Gonerby Hill Foot, on November 3, 2010.
At Nottingham Crown Court on Friday, the four men were sentenced to a total of 37 years.
Nathan Pilsbury, 23, of North Oval, Kingsheath, Northampton, was found guilty of kidnap and robbery, and was sentenced to 13 years and six months.
Andra Alfred Hoyland, 28, of Northampton Road, Broughton, Kettering, pleaded guilty to kidnap and robbery and was sentenced to seven years and six months.
Richard Loveridge, 20, of Ecton Lane Park, Lower Ecton Lane, Great Billing, Northampton, pleaded guilty to kidnap and robbery and was sentenced to six years.
Martin McBrien, 26, of Crow Lane, Little Billing, Northampton, pleaded guilty to kidnap and robbery and was sentenced to 10 years.
The court heard how the 54-year-old victim was forced out of his car in Keyworth, south of Nottingham, at about 6.10pm on November 3.
He was threatened with a knife and made to hand over his car keys before being bound and bundled into the back of his own vehicle. He was then forced to open Booker cash and carry to allow the offenders access.
Cash and cigarettes were stolen during the robbery.
The alarm was raised after the victim was dumped in a field at Bottesford where he managed to free himself from the tape which bound his ankles together. He then flagged down a passing lorry on the A52.
Detectives from Nottinghamshire Police’s major crime unit examined CCTV footage and trawled through phone records to link together the four men, who were part of an organised crime group from Northampton, and show how they had plotted the kidnap and robbery.
In addition to Pilsbury, Hoyland, Loveridge, and McBrien, a fifth person was also sentenced for their part in incident.
Sonia Drury, 31, of Edgerley Drain Road, Peterborough, had pleaded guilty to assisting in the commission of robbery.
Drury was sentenced at Nottingham Crown Court on Thursday, February 16. She was handed a 12-month sentence, suspended for two years, a one-year supervision order and ordered to complete 60 hours’ unpaid work.
Inspector Andy Roberts said: “This was clearly a planned and co-ordinated operation and these men put their victim through a terrifying ordeal in order to gain entry to the cash and carry.
“Although the manager was physically unharmed in the incident, the trauma of what happened has had a huge psychological impact.
“The length of the sentence reflects the gravity of the crimes and I hope that it will bring some long-awaited closure to the victim.”