00:00A criminal dispute over counterfeit cigarettes worth over £1 million has ended with four men
00:07being convicted over the death of a Birmingham man following an exceptionally violent attack.
00:13Thomas Samuel was kidnapped from his Hansworth home by men pretending to be police officers
00:18carrying out a European arrest warrant. Prosecutors said he was forced into a van
00:23and driven to Merseyside where he was falsely imprisoned, brutally assaulted and set alight.
00:29Despite suffering catastrophic injuries, Mr Samuel managed to reach a nearby house
00:34where strangers called for an ambulance. He was taken to hospital but died three months later from
00:40his injuries. The court heard members of an organised crime group believed he was responsible for the
00:46loss of counterfeit cigarettes valued at around £1 million following a seizure by HM Revenue and
00:53customs. Toby Ashkovsky and Neil Jones were found guilty of murder. Kevin Wooden and Kai Arthur were
01:02acquitted of murder but convicted of manslaughter. All four had previously admitted conspiracy to kidnap
01:09and conspiracy to falsely imprison. West Midlands Police said the investigation lasted several years
01:16officers and extended across a number of countries as detectives pieced together CCTV, mobile phone
01:22evidence and international enquiries. Officers described those responsible as extremely dangerous.
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