A DRUG-RUNNER who was bundled into the back of a van rang his mum to say goodbye to her as he thought he was going to die, a court heard.

The man, who was picked up by a county lines drug-gang he had worked for that was known as the ‘Pirates’ at Slough train station, was blackmailed and told his mother would have to pay £1,000 for his safe release.

And eight months later, in December 2020, the same man was picked up by the same gang in London and threatened with a machete after his jealous ex-girlfriend, from Reading, told one of the group’s leaders, Lennon Gomes, that he intended to steal money from them.

This was untrue, but the gang beat up the man’s drug-running partner with a baseball bat before driving him round in the back of a car.

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It was after this that the man decided he needed to leave the Pirates for good, and was forced by Gomes to hand over more cash for his ‘freedom’.

Eventually, Gomes and four others - Mustafa Mohamud, Anne-Marie Garland, Syed Shah, and Naveed Mahmood -- were convicted of offences including blackmail, money laundering and false imprisonment in relation to these incidents following a trial through August and September.

At Reading Crown Court today, the group received more than 34 years behind bars altogether.

What were each of their roles?

Gomes picked up the man, who we are naming Mr X to protect his identity, from Slough train station in April 2020.

Mr X was a drug-runner for Gomes’s Pirates county-lines drugs gang.

Upon picking him up from the station, Gomes took Mr X to a house where he was confronted over the disappearance of a fellow drug-runner.

A more senior leader in the gang picked Mr X up by the “scruff of his neck”, prosecutor Charlene Sumnall said, and he was prevented from escaping.

He was led outside and told to get into the boot of a BMW but he refused and was bundled into the back of the car.

It was at this point that Gomes left and Mahmood got in the car and Mr X was driven around for 40 minutes.

He was being assaulted in the car and Mr X called his mother throughout his ordeal.

From their phone call, she described him as being “incredibly scared”, and “begging for his life”, the court heard.

Ms Sumnall said: “She was convinced he was going to die. She was listening to her son sobbing on the phone and having to say ‘goodbye mum’”.

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Mr X did not need hospital treatment for his injuries but his family was left financially worse off after his captors demanded his mother pay £1,000 for his release.

She transferred the money which ended up in the bank account of Mustafa Mohamud, whose cash withdrawals following the deposit resulted in his money laundering conviction.

After a time away from the gang, Mr X rejoined the Pirates as a drug-runner and recruited another man, Mr Y, who would also run drugs.

Mr X had been in a relationship with Ms Anne-Marie Garland, but their time together was described as “toxic” by Ms Sumnall as they were violent towards each other.

Upon separating, Garland contacted Gomes to falsely accuse Mr X of planning to steal money from the gang.

She did this knowing what Gomes had done to Mr X in April of that year.

Ms Sumnall said Garland, from Reading, “wanted the same thing to happen again” and it did when Gomes kidnapped Mr X and his associate, Mr Y.

Later, the court heard how Garland texted a friend boasting that she had got Mr X ‘napped’.

Gomes picked them up and they were taken to another location by Syed Shah in his car.

The pair were told they were going to do a “massive” drug bagging-up but not long after they arrived at their Hounslow location “the atmosphere changed”, a court heard.

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A senior leader in the gang picked up a machete and positioned it near Mr X’s face, telling him he would ‘chop him up’.

But a 14-year-old boy who was present at the scene intervened and told the gang it was actually Mr Y who had planned to steal from them.

Following this, Mr Y was hit by the gang leader with a baseball bat on his knees.

Shah returned to pick Mr Y up and he was driven to a location near some garages where he was beaten.

Mr Y was taken back to Gomes’s address before they were returned to Mr X’s home.

Wanting to get out of the gang for good, Mr X withdrew all his money from his bank account and was forced to hand it over to Gomes to secure his ‘freedom’ from the Pirates.

What did their defence counsels say?

Mr Jones, defending for Gomes, said his family described him as “polite, respectful, and kind to others.”

He added: “[In terms of harm], there was a level of exaggeration on behalf of the victims. There were no broken bones, cuts, or swelling.”

Mahmood’s defence counsel said his involvement in the first incident lasted 30-40 minutes and he did not inflict violence.

“He was there to provide support by numbers”, his defence barrister said.

Shah’s defence lawyer said he did not inflict any violence either.

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He was described as a “hard-working, respectful and talented young man.”

Ms Scott defended Garland and told the court her client worked as a care worker during the pandemic.

She said: “It is not a case that but for her actions this would never have taken place at all.

“If it was not for her relationship [with Mr X] she would never have got involved in this world.”

What sentences did they receive?

Sentencing, her honour Judge Real put four of the convicts behind bars for a total of 34 years and nine months years.

Lennon Gomes, 22, of Shaftesbury Avenue, Feltham, was sentenced to 18 years imprisonment for three counts of false imprisonment, two counts of blackmail, and two counts of conspiracy to supply heroin and cocaine.

Naveed Mahmood, 28, of Basildene Road, Hounslow, was sentenced to six years imprisonment for count of false imprisonment and one count of blackmail against one victim.

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Syed Shah, 22, of Priory Green, Islington, was sentenced to eight years imprisonment for two counts of false imprisonment and two counts of conspiracy to supply heroin and cocaine.

Anne-Marie Garland, 19, of Aylsham Close, Tilehurst, Reading, was sentenced to 33 months in a young offenders institute for one count of encouraging the commission of offences.

Mustafa Mahumud, 27, of Cottage Road, Islington, was given a 12-month community order and told to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work for one count of money laundering.

The five were sentenced at Reading Crown Court on Friday, October 29.