Drugs gang that used 'honey trap' to torture teen to settle £5,000 debt jailed for 40 years

A drugs gang who kidnapped and tortured a teen for £5,000 he allegedly owed them were sentenced to more than 40 years in jail.

The Peterborough-based gang of five lured a 17-year-old boy into a 'honey trap' to meet girls for a drink in Grantham, Lincolnshire.

But instead the teen was forced into a car, handcuffed, driven to several addresses where he was stabbed and beaten. The gang called one of his relatives and demanded a ransom, before he was eventually released without payment 19 hours later.

Adam Cousens, 25, Kane Stone, 25, Mohammed Qasim Nasir, 26, Danielle Corrigan, 27, and Alan Stokes, 36 were sentenced to 40 years and three months for a range of charges including grievous bodily harm, conspiracy to kidnap and false imprisonment at Lincoln Crown Court on Friday (9 February).

Judge Simon Hirst, passing sentence, told them: "I have no doubt that this was about drug dealing and the victim stealing drugs from Stone and Couzens. It is aggravated by taking place in broad daylight.

"You recruited the other people. Both of you were happy for violence to be used. The extent of the violence was very significant. Your victim felt he was going to die. He has had to move out of the area because of what happened."

Earlier, prosecutor Gordon Aspden told the jury that the victim, who is from Peterborough, had a troubled background and became involved in the local drug scene while still at school, reported the Grantham Journal.

Aspden added: "By mid-2016 he was mixing with an assortment of drug dealers, thieves and ne'er-do-wells, all of whom were involved in serious crime. His daily routine was dominated by drugs. His lifestyle was unstable and chaotic."

The court heard that in September 2016 the teenager, who was not named in court, went into hiding after some of the gang accused him of stealing £5,000 worth of drugs. But the gang tracked him down to Grantham.

Honey trap

They used Danielle Corrigan as a "honey trap", said Aspden. She convinced the teen via Facebook and later on the phone to meet her and friend for a drink.

On 19 September the teen and his friend went for what they thought was a night out with two girls.

But instead, two men – Stone and McKinsley – jumped out the rear of a Seat Leon and chased the two boys down a high street, in the west of the Lincolnshire town.

The teen fell and was kicked, punched, stabbed and sprayed with CS gas. He was then bundled into the back of a car where a bag was placed over his head. He was handcuffed and had leg cuffs placed around his ankles.

He was driven back to Peterborough and was held at three separate addresses, where he was tortured and threatened throughout the night. At one point his kidnappers phoned his aunt and demanded £5,000 for his safe return.

However, at 2pm the next day his kidnappers decided to release him and he made his own way to Peterborough hospital.

Doctors treated him for a series of deep wounds, bruising, and cuts to his face and buttocks that required 20 stitches.

Lincolnshire Police detectives began making arrests within hours. Cousens and Corrigan were found at Corrigan's Peterborough flat.

At another address in town, Stone was arrested. A flick knife was also found that had traces of blood from the victim.

Cambridgeshire Police visited the home of Stokes in connection with another matter but found blood stains, stained towels, handcuffs, a black balaclava, two cans of CS gas and several tools and weapons that were all used in the attack on the teen.

CCTV showed the gang meeting at a canteen, on the northbound carriageway of the A1, and driving around Grantham town centre an hour and a half before the kidnapping.

Conspiracy to kidnap

Adam Cousens plead guilty to conspiracy to kidnap and cause grievous bodily harm including wounding. He was jailed for 14 years.

Kane Stone pleaded guilty to conspiracy to kidnap and cause grievous bodily harm including wounding. He was jailed for 14 years.

Mohammed Qasim Nasir pleaded guilty to conspiracy to kidnap. He was jailed for six years.

Danielle Corrigan was found guilty of conspiracy to kidnap. She was jailed for four years.

Alan Stokes pleaded guilty to conspiracy to falsely imprison. He was jailed for two years, three months. Stokes was handed a further six months after pleading guilty for attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child, in breach of an earlier sexual harm prevention order.

Sustained attack

Speaking after the sentencing, detective superintendent Pete Grayson said: "This was a violent and sustained attack on a 17- year-old. The offenders planned their actions in advance, convincing the victim and his friend that they were going to meet two girls for an evening out.

"Instead, the victim was kidnapped and bundled into a car, sustaining knife injuries and being held prisoner for many hours. This must have been a very frightening event."

A sixth member of the gang Delano Jordan Mckinsley, 22, from Peterborough pleaded guilty to conspiracy to kidnap, and will be sentenced next month.

A 22-year-old woman and a 23-year-old man were found not guilty for conspiracy to kidnap.