Naked man escaped boot of car and fought off attackers during kidnapping
Four men face jail following 'extremely frightening' abduction on streets of Edinburgh
A naked man who was kidnapped by a gang in Edinburgh managed to fight his way out of the boot of a car he was bundled in before fending off his attackers in front of shocked onlookers.
Emmanuel Chidubem Emmanuel, 27, freed himself from the black BMW after pulling out the fuses from inside the boot to disable the car before struggling with his kidnappers when they tried to get him back into the vehicle in the middle of the street in broad daylight.
Emmanuel, from Stevenage in Hertfordshire, was visiting the Scottish capital on 10 February when he was abducted by the gang before being beaten, stripped and tied up at a house in Gilmerton. The men took his online bank details before taking around £1,200 off him and forcing him into the boot of the car.
Emmanuel, who works as a mechanic, managed to disable the car and open the boot in Buckstone Road. Social worker Julie Arbuckle, 47, witnessed Emmanuel escaping the car naked and fighting off his abductors at around 12:30pm and alerted police.
Hooman Sojoodi, 22, Sanchez Facey, 23, Glen Elamo, 20, and Arnold Mukueto, 22, were all convicted of assault and abduction following a trial at the High Court in Edinburgh.
Arbuckle told the court about witnessing the "frantic and shocking" incident. She said: "They were all kicking and punching him and trying to get him into the car. At one point the naked guy, they had got him in the car, but he got out the other door."
She added: "He looked quite injured. His whole face was swollen," reported the Daily Record.
All four men involved in the kidnap and assault of Emmanuel are due to be sentenced in October.
Following their conviction, Police Scotland detective inspector Bruce Coutts said: "This was an extremely frightening experience for the victim and we believe that the men were intent on causing him serious harm.
"We are extremely grateful to the public and our colleagues from other forces who came forward to provide vital information which helped ensure this conviction."
© Copyright IBTimes 2024. All rights reserved.