This is the moment a hostage was discovered in the back of a transit van - after being abducted and blackmailed over £300k unpaid debt.

Darren McLean, 38, was behind the wheel of a van on July 16, 2020, when he was stopped leaving a travellers site in Cambridgeshire.

The blackmail victim was found inside the rear compartment, and body cam footage shows him lying on a mattress before being freed by an arresting officer.

McLean claims he's a friend of his, but it quickly transpires that this is not the case, with the victim reporting he'd been threatened with violence and racially abused.

In January, McLean was found guilty of two charges of conspiracy to blackmail and one count of conspiracy to falsely imprison.

He was sentenced to ten years' imprisonment and received another five years for unrelated offences.

#police #arrest #kidnapping

Subscribe to The Telegraph with our special offer: just £1 for 3 months. Start your free trial now:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/customer/subscribe/digitalsub/3for1/?WT.mc_id=tmgoff_pvid_conversion-subscription_editorial-iniative_03-22_EGW-13_organic_youtube

Get the latest headlines: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/

Telegraph.co.uk and YouTube.com/TelegraphTV are websites of The Telegraph, the UK's best-selling quality daily newspaper providing news and analysis on UK and world events, business, sport, lifestyle and culture.