Three bungling kidnappers lured an Israeli musician to a remote cottage in Wales with financial, political and religious motives, a court heard.
Faiz Shah, 23, Mohammad Comrie, 23, and Elijah Ogunnubi-Sime, 20, carefully planned the kidnap of Jewish composer Itay Kashti who described the ordeal as ‘my own personal October 7.’
Falsely claiming to be a Polydor Records executive, the three friends invited Mr Kashti to a music event which would be attended by music producers and other musicians.
They paid for a taxi to take him to an AirBnB in Ceredigion where they were waiting in face masks and gloves and enough supplies to keep him captive for a week.
But after attacking the married composer they handcuffed him to a radiator, failing to notice he could slide along a pipe and get free.
The trio came up with a kidnap plan, described in court as ‘highly sophisticated in its planning but highly amateurish in its execution.’
Prosecutor Craig Jones said: ‘A Telegram group chat was set up by the defendants in which they discussed many aspects of the plot.
‘They called themselves Banger, Paul Graham and Fly Adam and referred to the kidnap operation as The Lick.’
Mohammad Comrie, 23, alongside two other men have been sentenced to eight years for kidnapping an Israeli musician at a remote cottage in west Wales
Elijah Ogunnubi-Sime, 30, was also a part of the trio. They kidnapped the Jewish composer Itay Kashti who described the ordeal as ‘my own personal October 7’
‘There are many messages between the three defendants about how to make their dealings with Mr Kashti seem realistic and professional.’
Swansea Crown Court heard the three kidnappers made a shopping list which included handcuffs, a blinfold, gag, zip ties and ketamine to drug their intended target.
Mr Jones said: ‘They emailed Mr Kashti claiming to be a fictitious A&R man from Polydor Records by the name of Lucas Winslow inviting him to a recording camp in Wales.
‘They told him it was a gathering of a group of producers and songwriters for a collaboration.
‘He would be picked up by a driver, given a remuneration package and they requested an invoice.
‘Mr Kashti responded and said he would be happy to participate – as far as he was concerned he was attending a legitimate music recording event.’
Mr Jones said it was a ‘careful and deliberate plot’ to secure his attendance and the trio made their dealings with their intended victim ‘realistic and professional’.
Under the made up name of James Sullivan, they rented Gate House cottage, near the town of Llanybydder for a week and stocked it with enough supplies to hold Mr Kashti until a ransom was paid.
Mr Jones said: ‘Their motivation was two-fold. Firstly they intended to extort money from the individual who they perceived to be wealthy.
‘But there was a clear political and religious motivation. In the discussions between the defendants they refer to him attending pro-Israeli marches in London and one of them said: ‘I know this guy is involved in West Bank settlements, taking Palestinians land.’
Faiz Shah, 23, was also sentenced to eight years behind bars. The trio’s kidnap plot was described as ‘highly sophisticated in its planning but highly amateurish in its execution’
They rented Gate House cottage, near the town of Llanybydder for a week and stocked it with enough supplies to hold Mr Kashti until a ransom was paid.
The three kidnappers, who met online, planned to launder the ransom money by converting it into crypto-currency.
One message on an encrypted Telegram group stated: ‘All three of us have complete, 100 per cent faith in Allah so we can’t fail.’
But the kidnap on August 25 last year went badly wrong when the taxi driver who took the composer to the cottage helped him inside with his guitar and luggage and found they had walked into a ‘well-laid’ trap.
The driver was attacked by the gang but managed to escape and raise the alarm. By that time Mr Kashti had also been taken to the floor where he was kicked and punched and threatened with death if he tried to escape.
Mr Jones said: ‘They handcuffed him to a radiator but he was able to lift himself up and free himself from a pipe.
‘He took his mobile phone from a table , escaped and hid in bushes where he called his wife to tell her what had happened to him.’
The gang was rounded up in nearby fields and police found cash, mobile phones and fraudulent bank cards issued in the name of James Sullivan inside the cottage.
Comrie, from Leeds, Shah from Bradford, and Elijah Ogunnubi-Sime from Wallington, London, all admitted kidnap. They were each given sentences of eight years and one month with Ogunnubi-Sime serving his time in a young offenders’ institution.
An air pistol recovered from the rural cottage where the three men kept the victim hostage
A rubber face mask which was a part of the trio’s ‘shopping list’ was also found at the property
Mr Kashti was held at the property with the three men using cable ties to tie him to a radiator. He managed to escape and call his wife
In his personal impact statement Mr Kashti said: ‘As an Israeli, this was my own personal October 7.’ He added that as he was lying on the floor he thought of the six million Jews who lost their lives in the Holocaust.
He said: ‘I don’t know how I can go on working in the music industry, it has left me with anxiety and feelings of isolation and loss of confidence.’
Judge Catherine Richards said the offence ‘involved significant and highly sophisticated planning’ and they targeted Kashti ‘based on your understanding of his wealth, his Jewish heritage and your racial hostility’.
Mr Kashti was supported by the Community Security Trust, a charity that protects British Jews from terrorism and antisemitism.
It issued a statement afterwards from Mr Kashti – whom it did not identify – in which he said: ‘As an Israeli, this incident felt like my own personal October the 7th.
‘I was kicked to the head several times, handcuffed to a radiator and forced to lie down on the floor.
‘I was threatened and told if I were to try and escape, I’d be killed.
‘The awful attack of 7th of October was flashing through my mind as I lay restrained on the floor in handcuffs.
‘I can’t deny the strong and devastating impact this brutal and unnecessary attack has had on my life.
‘The awful attack of 7th of October was flashing through my mind as I lay restrained on the floor in handcuffs,’ said in a statement via the Community Security Trust
‘My physical injuries lasted for weeks, and I have been suffering with anxiety, which I have never experienced before.
‘I am so grateful to CST for all the support they have given me.’
Thanking police and prosecutors for bringing the kidnappers to justice, CST Chief Executive Mark Gardner said ‘The combination of criminality and anti-Jewish hatred could easily have resulted in a far worse, perhaps even fatal outcome.
‘We will continue to work with the police and all other partners to ensure the safety of our Jewish community and to bring perpetrators of antisemitism to justice.’
Inspector Gareth Jones of Dyfed Powys Police said: “This sentence today reflects the severity of this offence and the ordeal the victim suffered – and we hope it gives the victim a sense of justice.
“We thank him for his strength, bravery and patience whilst we carried out a thorough investigation into what was an extraordinary crime.”