Conman - 'I was betrayed by friend'
A self-confessed conman claims he was told by a friend he could hide from creditors at her Drinkstone cottage indefinitely - before she then tipped off a London gang who kidnapped him at gunpoint.
Werner Serieux told Ipswich Crown Court on Wednesday how he had regarded Nukay Thwe as a close friend, until she made the alleged phone call giving away his location.
Farad Shabazz, 34, Nathan Carty, 25, and Thwe, 36 are all on trial at the court, having all pleaded not guilty to a charge of kidnap.
Shabazz, of Charteris Road, Kilburn, and Carty of Dalyell Road, Stockwell, also deny blackmailing Mr Serieux and falsely imprisoning him.
The prosecution claims Mr Serieux was abducted from The Old Rectory, in The Street, Drinkstone, on September 13 last year. He was then taken to London where he was held in a flat in Lewisham, it is alleged.
Under cross-examination, Serieux denied the kidnapping had been 'staged'.
He also denied that it had been his idea to place a coat over his head during the journey to London, to stop him from being recognised.
Thwe, of Cherry Orchard, Oakington, and Mr Seriuex met in 2002, he said. Thwe helped to pay rent owed by Mr Serieux, when his account was frozen by investigators, he said.
Mr Seriuex said Thwe had at no time been an investor in his schemes. But he did have around 50 creditors looking for him.
In June last year, Thwe offered Mr Seriuex the chance to stay at the cottage.
Andrew Shaw, prosecuting, said Mr Serieux took 16,000 from Shabazz promising a higher return - but only 4,000 was returned.
It is alleged that associates of Shabazz including Carty, took Mr Serieux to a remote location, where he was beaten and threatened before taking him to Lewisham where he was held blindfolded in a flat.
The trial continues.
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Weather for Bury St Edmunds
Saturday 04 February 2012
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