Depot boss tells of kidnap trauma

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/england/kent/6262528.stm

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A cash depot manager has told a court how he felt "afraid and scared" when he was kidnapped on his way home from work by men posing as police officers.

Colin Dixon, 52, from Herne Bay, Kent, was giving evidence at the trial of eight people accused of involvement in the £53m Securitas raid in Tonbridge.

Mr Dixon, his wife and a young child were allegedly kidnapped by a gang that carried out the robbery last February.

Seven men and one woman deny various charges at the Old Bailey in London.

Mr Dixon told the court on Monday that he was pulled over by a car with blue flashing lights in Detling, Kent, on the evening of 21 February last year.

He said he was bundled into the Volvo by a man wearing a police jacket and cap.

He was handcuffed before being informed that he had been caught speeding several times in the previous few weeks.

Legs tied

Mr Dixon's suspicions were further aroused because the vehicle was driven off in a "sudden, erratic and fast" way, the two men told him their identification was back at a police station, and BBC Radio 1 was playing on the car stereo.

He said the driver, whose face he did not see, then said: "You'll guess that we are not policemen."

Mr Dixon had a gun pointed at him and was told: "Don't do anything silly and nobody will be hurt."

The car headed back towards Tonbridge, where Mr Dixon had his legs tied and was put into a white van.

Three other men were waiting with the vehicle and he was told he would "get a hole" in him if he did not co-operate.

Replicas of the kidnappers' and Mr Dixon's cars were used by police

Jurors have previously heard that Mr Dixon's wife and a young child were also kidnapped in Herne Bay later the same evening.

The defendants on trial include car salesman Stuart Royle, 48, of Maidstone, Kent, and his former business partner, John Fowler, 58, of Staplehurst, Kent.

Also charged are former depot worker Ermir Hysenaj, 27, of Crowborough, East Sussex; Jetmir Bucpapa, 26, of Tonbridge, Kent; roofer Lea Rusha, 35, of Southborough, Kent; garage owner Roger Coutts, 30, of Welling, south-east London; and hairdresser Michelle Hogg, 32, of Woolwich, south-east London.

They all deny conspiracy to rob, conspiracy to kidnap and conspiracy to possess firearms.

Signwriter Keith Borer, 53, of Maidstone, Kent, has pleaded not guilty to a charge of handling stolen money.

The case was adjourned until Tuesday.