Extortion gang who kidnapped Peterborough man and threatened to rape him if his family did not pay, jailed for more than 35 years

Four men responsible for kidnapping a man from Peterborough have today (Friday) been jailed for a total of more than 35 years.
JailedJailed
Jailed

On the evening of December 18 last year (2016), the victim, a man in his 20s, was at his home in Peterborough when he heard a knock at the door. Before opening it he asked who it was and a man replied saying it was the police.

He opened the door and was greeted by two men who told him they wanted to speak with him about a matter in Ilford and asked him to get into their car.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

He felt something wasn’t right so told his wife to call the police to check the situation. On hearing this the two men barged their way into the house, covered the victim’s head with a jumper and bundled him into the back of a Mitsubishi Warrior.

Ross BrightRoss Bright
Ross Bright

The men took his mobile phone from him and said he owed them £20,000, stating ‘you’re going to tell people you owe the money’, before beating him around the head.

The two men who bundled the victim into the Mitsubishi were later identified as being 38-year-old Nigel Collins and 31-year-old Alex Callcut. Collins was also the driver of the car.

A third man, who was waiting in the back of the Mitsubishi, was identified as 36-year-old Tyssen Newland.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The Mitsubishi set off towards London, with the victim being assaulted, threatened and made to call members of his family claiming he owed money and they need to pay in order to secure his release.

Tyssen NewlandTyssen Newland
Tyssen Newland

The group eventually arrived in Dagenham at The Unorthodox Gym where they met Ross Bright, 30, who led the group inside. Once inside, the victim was threatened with rape and continued to be physically assaulted and threatened with violence.

The men kept making financial demands for his release before he was taken back outside to a vehicle and driven to the Perth Road area of Ilford where he was pushed out of the car with his head still covered, wearing just shorts, a t-shirt and no shoes.

He immediately sought help by going into a nearby pub and asking the landlord for assistance.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

All four men were charged with conspiracy to kidnap earlier this year (2017). Bright and Newland pleaded guilty, while Collins and Callcut denied the charges against them but were found guilty on Monday (October 2) following a trial at Cambridge Crown Court.

Alexander CallcuttAlexander Callcutt
Alexander Callcutt

A fifth person, 38-year-old Nina Siaperas, who is also known as Nina Cranstoun, of Rushden Gardens in Ilford, East London, was also charged with conspiracy to kidnap, however she was found not guilty following a trial at Cambridge Crown Court.

Today (Friday) all four men appeared at Cambridge Crown Court for sentencing. Newland, of Treecot Drive in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, was sentenced to 14 years in prison, while Callcut, of Highfield Road in Romford, and Collins, of Fremantle Road in Ilford, were both given 10 years. Bright, of Highfield Road in Romford, was jailed for three-and-a-half years.

All four men have been made subject of a life-long restraining order prohibiting them from contacting the victim or his family.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Detective Chief Inspector Jerry Waite, from the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Major Crime Unit, said: “Mobile phone evidence shows the defendants met on December 18 in the afternoon at the Unorthodox Gym before Newland, Collins and Callcut set off to Peterborough.

Nigel CollinsNigel Collins
Nigel Collins

“The length of the sentences issued today just shows the severity of this crime which was clearly an organised kidnapping which has had a detrimental effect on not only the victim but also his family.”