Three men have been sentenced to prison after abducting a pregnant woman and threatening to harm her if her partner did not provide them with money and valuables.

Audi Johnson, Ahmad Ghiasi, and Nicholas Mitchell forcefully took a 36-year-old woman, who was six months pregnant, and put her into a van near her residence in Enfield, located in the north, on May 10 of the previous year.

The woman’s hands were restrained with cable ties, and the men interrogated her about her partner. One of them threatened to harm her unborn child if she did not comply.

They made a series of phone calls to her partner, threatening to cut off her fingers if he didn’t carry out their demands for money and jewellery.

Despite being blindfolded and bound at the wrist, when the woman was left alone in the van she managed to escape the vehicle.

She then flagged down a cab which took her to the safety of her mother’s house.

The Metropolitan Police’s Flying Squad swiftly reacted to the crime. Utilizing CCTV, they were able to trace the van and find its location on the same evening.

Officers were then able to identify the suspects using DNA evidence, fingerprint impressions and mobile phone data.

All three appeared at Kingston crown court today where: 

• Audi Johnson, 35, of Cranberry Close, Northolt pleaded guilty to conspiracy to kidnap and was sentenced to five years and four months 

• Ahmad Ghiasi, 26, of Fourth Avenue, Luton was sentenced to seven years for conspiracy to kidnap 
•  Nicholas Mitchell, 55, of Mannock Close, Barnet was sentenced to nine years for conspiracy to kidnap

In a statement submitted to the court, the victim said she hasn’t been able to return to her home since the kidnapping, spending the rest of her pregnancy sleeping on her sister’s sofa.

She said: ‘The incident ruined my life. I will never be the same person again. I am having to start my life all over again.

‘I will forever have fear and paranoia as part of my life now. I didn’t deserve to be a victim of what happened to me. And to top it off, it was all made so much worse by being pregnant.

‘This will always be something that will be part of my pregnancy, which is meant to be a happy experience, and will always be something that is a part of my daughter.’ 

Johnson, Ghiasi and Mitchell were members of a London-based gang, who had been contracted to carry out the kidnapping.

Detective Inspector Ari Yoganathan from the Metropolitan Police said: ‘The victim was leaving her home to see her personal trainer on a morning that should have been like any other.

‘That a pregnant mother should be bundled into a van and kidnapped from outside her home, bound and subjected to horrific threats is a disgusting and terrifying crime.

‘Officers were able to track her attackers through forensic analysis of CCTV and phone data, recordings and intelligence.

‘This verdict shows how we are taking the fight to criminal gangs and committed to supporting the local communities they intimidate and threaten.’