The Israeli leader of the international gang caught trying to kidnap a former Nigerian Minister last July has been jailed for 14 years.
A Nigerian secret serviceman was jailed for 12 years and two other Israelis each received 10-year sentences for trying to take Umaru Dikko back to Nigeria where he is wanted for alleged embezzlement by the Lagos authorities.
Alexander Barak, 27, an Israeli businessman who led the gang, was sentenced to 14 years. The other Israelis were Lev Arie Shapiro, 44, a Sovietborn hospital anaesthetist, and Tunisian-born shopkeeper Felix Abutbul. Shapiro’s role was to drug Dikko during the airlift to Nigeria.
FAMILIES SHOCKED BY SENTENCES
The defendants and their families have been shocked by the severity of the sentences, which are regarded as comparable with those meted out to terrorists. They are expected to appeal.
Justifying the sentences, the presiding Justice said he felt some sympathy for the kidnappers, but added: “It must be made absolutely clear that courts in this country will take an extremely grave view of any attempt to abduct by force and take overseas against his will, a person living lawfully in this country.”
The Israel Embassy has so far maintained a strict silence about the case, despite press speculation that Barak was connected with Israeli intelligence.
The kidnap effort was foiled when police at Stansted Airport discovered Shapiro and the unconscious Dikko in a diplomatic crate waiting to be flown to Nigeria.
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