Five men face jail for torturing two men after imprisoning them against their will for four hours in a flat in Brighton.
They stabbed one of their victims in the arm and burnt his feet with an iron.
The two victims were tied up with string and tape, bundled down the stairs at the block of flats and forced into the boot of a car at knifepoint.
Neighbours heard shouts for help and phoned 999. Sussex Police officers found the victims with their hands and feet bound – one in a car boot in the car park at Barclay House, Wellington Road, Brighton, and the other near by.
Detectives found that both men had been invited to the flat but once there “they were subjected to a horrific attack”.
The five men were Martin Maloney, 41, of Barclay House, Wellington Road, Brighton, William Ben-Sellem, 24, of Kingswood Flats, Brighton, Ashraf Abdullah, 29, of Cranmer Avenue, Hove, Samuel Tando, 28, of Croydon, and Alexander Pululu, 31, of Staplehurst House, Sholden Gardens, Orpington, Kent.
They were all charged with two counts of false imprisonment, two counts of robbery, one count of inflicting grievous bodily harm (GBH) with intent, having a firearm and two counts of making threats to kill.
They all pleaded not guilty to the offences but Ben-Sellem, Pululu and Tando were found guilty of all the charges, except having a firearm, after a five-week trial at the Inner London Court, in Southwark, last August.
The jury did not reach a version on Abdullah and Maloney. But a retrial started last month at the same court and today (Thursday 16 February) they were found guilty. Maloney was cleared of making threats to kill.
The night of torture took place on Tuesday 6 October 2015, ending shortly before 10.30pm when neighbours heard cries for help from victims Ary Mohamed, 24, and Bahman Ahmadi, 21.
After tying up the pair, their attackers demanded cash from them. They stabbed Mr Mohamed in the arm, leaving him with an injury from which he still hasn’t fully recovered.
They also burnt his feet with an iron and hit him about the face and head, leaving him with further wounds. They then used his car to drive to his flat and steal money from him.
Mr Ahmadi suffered less serious injuries to his head and wrist, Sussex Police said.
All five men will be sentenced in April.
Detective Inspector Andy Wolstenholme said: “The victims in this case were subjected to a horrific ordeal and have suffered tremendous pain and stress.
“The 24-year-old man has not recovered full mobility in the use of his arm where he was stabbed.
“This has been an incredible complex investigation. Achieving this result will aid the victims’ recovery as well as sending a strong message that violent and organised criminal groups are not welcome in Sussex and will be relentlessly pursued.
“All the victims and witnesses who gave evidence at the trial demonstrated real courage and community spirit in coming forward to help secure these convictions.
“Without the support we received from partners and the public, we would not have been able to bring the case to court and ensure these dangerous men are imprisoned.”
Disgusting. I hope that the victims can recover after such an ordeal.
I met Martin a few times, I never liked him he was always smelly and dirty and would talk about all these women he had been with and he would just say gross sexual things, I’m so glad I trusted my instincts and kept alert when he was around. He did talk about this case to a few of us and said he was made to do what he did and that the other men where intimidating him into it but I just knew that was bs he’s not right in the head.
Rot Martin what a dirty wrong en