Cocaine courier tortured with blowtorch over missing Leeds drugs 'lucky to be alive'
A drugs courier who was tortured by a criminal gang over large quantities of missing cocaine told a court that he was “lucky to be alive” but didn’t always feel it.
The man was kept in a van for 19 hours, tied up and attacked with weapons including a hammer, cigar cutter and burnt with the blowtorch.
Four men have since been jailed for their part in the vicious and sadistic assault, with the latest two receiving a combined total of 25 years at Leeds Crown Court this week.
In an impact statement read to the court by prosecutor Philip Standfast, the victim said: “They mistakenly believed I had stolen drugs.
“I was brutally tortured for hours. It has impacted me in every aspect of my life. I have suffered deep mental trauma and depression and anxiety.
“I have been diagnosed with PTSD. I struggle to process what these individuals did to me.
“I’m lucky to be alive, but most of the time it does not feel like it. It was terrifying and haunting. It seems like something from a movie.
“I can’t see any end to this.”
The court heard that the man was responsible for transporting huge quantities of cocaine in 2022, with shipments weighing up to 125kg. But after a consignment went missing, they suspected the driver.
The 27-year-old was lured to Lawn Lane, Farnley, during the evening of May 4, 2022.
The balaclava-clad gang bundled the victim into the back of a Transit van and subjected him to 19 hours of interrogation and violence.
The vehicle was later located by officers in Bramley during the afternoon of 5 May, following police enquires.
The victim was rescued from the van and the driver, Carl Beaumont, 38, of South Drive, Farsley was arrested from the scene.
He and Kieron Gavin, 33, were jailed in earlier proceedings in January 2023 after both admitted their roles as part of the kidnap gang.
Gavin was jailed for 13 years, six months for kidnap and GBH with intent, while Beaumont was sentenced to eight years, six months for kidnap.
This week Connor McCarthy, 33, of Cow Close Road in Lower Wortley, was jailed for 13 years.
Joshua Spreadbury, 31, of Malvern Street, Holbeck, was handed 12 years. Both defendants were found guilty of kidnap and GBH with intent.
A third defendant, 21-year-old Kathleen McKeown, of Robin Lane, Pudsey, was given a two-year sentence, suspended for two years. She was also ordered to complete 160 hours of unpaid work and 20 rehabilitation days with probation.