TWO brothers have been found guilty today of kidnap after a man was found in the boot of a car by police.

A jury at Bradford Crown Court convicted Shafiqul Ali, 35, and 38-year-old Shamsul Islam after an eight-day trial.

The brothers, of St George's Place, Elizabeth Street, Little Horton, Bradford, showed no emotion as the jury returned its verdicts. They had pleaded not guilty.

Ali was found not guilty of assault causing actual bodily harm, which he had denied. He had earlier been found not guilty, on the direction of the judge, of a charge of making a threat to kill, which he had also denied.

The pair will be sentenced, along with three co-defendants, on April 15. They were remanded in custody by Judge David Hatton QC.

Rashel Ahmed, 27, of Browning Street, Barkerend, Bradford; Monzur Ali, 25, of Sunrise Court; and Ali Hussain, 26, of Tivoli Place, both Little Horton, pleaded guilty during the trial to kidnap, assault causing actual bodily harm, and making threats to kill.

Those three were involved in the kidnap of Romanian man Christian Stanica from his flat in Mannville Terrace, Little Horton, on August 31, Bank Holiday Monday, last year.

The court heard how Mr Stanica was forced into a Volkswagen Polo car and driven to various locations in Bradford, including a food outlet in Morley Street, a location near to a restaurant in Great Horton Road, and the car park of a supermarket on that road.

During the ordeal, which lasted for several hours, he was threatened, assaulted and forced to drink vodka. It ended when police stopped the car in Hipperholme and found Mr Stanica in the boot.

The court was told Mr Stanica lived opposite a flat from where drugs and cash had gone missing. The kidnappers believed he had information about their disappearance.

The prosecution told the jury that Shafiqul Ali orchestrated what was happening, while Islam became involved later by driving his brother, in his black Mercedes, to the final location, joining with the Polo and following in convoy to a cul de sac in Hipperholme.

Mr Stanica told the court he had been woken by three men banging on the door, who were swearing and agitated. He was told to get in the Polo.

Mr Stanica said one of the men told him: "If the stuff doesn't turn up today, everyone in the house is going to die today."

He said: "They were trying to intimidate me. I felt scared. I took it seriously."