Three men have been found guilty of kidnapping and blackmailing a Plymouth chef, Fokrul Islam, following a debt dispute. Abdul Hashem, Afshar Ali, and Rayhan Al Din were unanimously convicted of the joint charge of kidnapping and blackmail on May 26, 2022. A fourth man, Kamal Hussain, was also charged but was not present during the trial.

The incident began over a debt Hussain believed he was owed by Mr. Islam, who worked as a chef at the Eastern Eye restaurant in Plymouth. The prosecution explained that the debt issue was irrelevant to the case, and the jury was only to consider the kidnapping, assaults, and blackmail.

On May 26, 2022, Hussain and the three other men traveled from London and Kent to Plymouth in a blue Peugeot hire car with the intent of resolving the debt matter. Upon arriving at the Eastern Eye restaurant, Hussain approached Mr. Islam and lured him outside, where the men forced him into the car. They then drove off with Mr. Islam trapped inside, where he was assaulted and a ransom was demanded.

Mr. Islam's family members, including his brothers in New York, were contacted and asked to pay a ransom, which rose from £20,000 to £35,000 over the course of the ordeal. Calls were also made to Mr. Islam’s wife in Bangladesh, with similar demands for money. Eventually, police were alerted, and an ANPR machine located the car, leading to its interception on the M2 motorway.

The kidnappers were arrested, and during police interviews, they gave conflicting accounts of the events. Ali, the driver, claimed the debt was related to an arranged marriage and insisted Mr. Islam had borrowed money but lost it gambling. The other men also denied any wrongdoing, with Hashem claiming he had been asleep during the journey.

The jury found all three men guilty, and a sentencing hearing has been scheduled for May 15. They were granted conditional bail but warned that they should prepare for immediate custody at the next hearing.