How kidnappers fell into trap by police

A TEAM of British police officers travelled to Paris to oversee payment of the ransom for an Oldham five-year-old held hostage in Pakistan, a court heard.

British law enforcement officers involved in the operation to recover Sahil Saeed yesterday gave evidence at the trial in Tarragona, Spain, of Muhammad Zahid Saleem, Gianina Monica Neruja and Muhammad Sageiz.

The two Pakistani men and Romanian woman deny charges of kidnap of a minor, conspiracy, robbery in conjunction with a crime of trespassing and eight charges of unlawful arrest in relation to the March, 2010, kidnapping.

At the trial, kidnap experts Rob Ormsby, of the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA), and Geoff Wessell, of Greater Manchester Police, said British officers went to France to assist Sahil's uncle as he delivered £110,000 to his nephewis kidnappers.

Sahil was snatched by four masked men armed with AK-47 assault rifles and grenades at his grandmother's house in Jhelum while on holiday with his father.

An international police operation was launched and the boy was released in Pakistan after the ransom raised by his family was allegedly collected by married couple Saleem and Neruja in Paris.

Rob Ormsby, head of SOCAis anti-kidnap and extortion unit, explained that he and a team of specialist officers from SOCA and GMP had taken the money to France with Sahilis uncle Tauseer Ahmed.

The kidnappers originally told Sahilis father to fly to Charles De Gaulle airport in Paris with the ransom, but due to visa problems it was decided his brother-in-law Mr Ahmed should go instead.

After listening in to telephone instructions allegedly given to him by Saleem and Neruja, the team watched over Sahilis uncle as he dropped off two suitcases containing £105,000 and 5,000 euros in a central Paris park.

French police, who were in overall command of the operation, also monitored the situation from a helicopter.

Det Supt Wessell, who remained in the UK in charge of the British side of the investigation, said that police had placed "pre-evidenced cash" and "forensic issues" in the bags.

He said: "It was decided that it would be too dangerous to use a tracking device, but we had the serial numbers for some of the cash so that if the ransom was recovered police would be able check."

After their arrest, Spanish police recovered £101,670 and 3,650 euros from the Tarragona flat which Saleem and Neruja shared with Sageiz.

The trial continues. Det Supt Wessell told the court that the gang behind Sahil's kidnapping were "highly organised".

"Any set of criminals that operate across international boundaries are professional," he said.

One of Saleem's brothers, Muhammad Nasir, was arrested in Pakistan in connection with the kidnapping.

He was killed in a shoot-out when a third brother, Muhammad Naveed, and their cousin Mudassar Safeer tried to free him from custody.

Naveed and Safeer were also killed by Pakistani police in the incident.

Following his son's safe return, Sahil's father described how the gang said they could put an explosive jacket on the boy and "blow him to pieces".

(proceeeding)



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