Two masked robbers who ambushed a terrified Scottish couple at gunpoint after luring them 600 miles to Bradford to buy a car advertised on the internet have received prison sentences totalling more than 16 years.
Drug dealer Sajid Hussain, who cocked a firearm and pointed it at Michael Irvine’s head, was jailed for ten years.
He was locked up for seven years for robbery and three years for peddling Class A drugs in the Manningham area of Bradford.
Shahid Sadik, who was on prison licence for aggravated vehicle taking, was locked up for six years and three months.
They were yesterday sentenced at Bradford Crown Court for robbing Mr Irvine and his partner, Louise Cogle, who live in the Shetland Islands, of £5,000 cash, and possession of a firearm or an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence.
Hussain, 26, of Cuncliffe Villas, Manningham, Bradford, was convicted by a jury on Friday. Sadik, 24, of Toller Lane, Bradford, pleaded guilty on the day of his trial.
Hussain was on bail at the time for supplying heroin and cocaine to undercover police officers.
He pleaded guilty to nine charges of supplying Class A drugs, between March 12 and April 11 last year.
Mr Irvine and Miss Cogle came to Bradford by plane and train on August 10 last year to buy a white Audi Quattro they had seen advertised for sale for £5,995 on the Auto Trader internet site.
Miss Cogle paid a £500 deposit for the car and they brought a red suitcase containing £5,000 in cash.
Prosecutor Simon Haring said the Audi was sold legitimately the previous month to another buyer.
The couple were lured to Park Drive, Heaton, where they were waylaid by three robbers who were wearing balaclava masks and armed with a gun and a plank of wood.
Hussain cocked the gun before pointing it at Mr Irvine’s face. He shouted: “I am going to take the bag. I am going to shoot you.”
CCTV footage played at the trial showed the three making off on foot at midday. Hussain, carrying the stolen bag, is behind Sadik and a man named in court as Mohammed Sultan.
Judge John Potter said the gun, which has not been recovered, was either real or a very realistic imitation.
Witnesses described Miss Cogle “shaking uncontrollably” at the scene.
Judge Potter said: “It can be readily assumed that anyone subjected to such a serious incident in wholly alien surroundings to them would have been significantly affected by what occurred.”
In mitigation, Hussain’s solicitor advocate, Simon Hustler, said his client had hurt his loving and supportive family and knew he had let himself down.
Charlotte Worsley, barrister for Sadik, said he was a cocaine addict and acted in desperation. He knew it was wrong and he was deeply remorseful.
After the case, Detective Inspector Neil Benstead, of Bradford CID, said of the victims: “This must have been a terrifying experience for them and we hope that the sentences passed down today will help to give them some closure.”
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