Tomasz Samel was kidnapped in Birmingham by three men claiming to be from Interpol, before being driven to the Liverpool area and attacked to be ‘taught a lesson’ over the loss of cigarettes worth £1million
Four men have been found guilty of killing a member of an organised crime group who was tortured, doused in petrol and set alight.
Tomasz Samel, 45, was kidnapped in 2019 in Birmingham by three men claiming to be from Interpol, before being driven to the Liverpool area and attacked to be “taught a lesson” over the loss of cigarettes worth £1million.
Jurors at Birmingham Crown Court deliberated for more than 11 hours before unanimously convicting Neil Jones and Tobiasz Kozlowski of Mr Samel’s murder and conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm. Co-defendants Kevin Wooden and Kye Arthur were cleared of murder and conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm but were found guilty of manslaughter.
Wooden, 46, of Alma Road, Banbury, Oxfordshire; Arthur, 35, of Copley Gardens, Bristol; Jones, 48, of no fixed address; and Kozlowski, 38, of Crosland Road, Kirkby, Merseyside, were remanded in custody for sentence on October 9.
Kozlowski’s wife, Sandra Kozlowska, 38, and also of Crosland Road, Kirkby, was found guilty of assisting an offender by helping him to avoid detection by police. She was bailed and will also be sentenced on October 9.
A six-week trial was told father-of-two Mr Samel, who was the subject of an international arrest warrant, was dumped in a remote location in Lancashire and died in hospital almost three months later.
In June, opening the Crown’s case, prosecutor Harpreet Sandhu KC stated that Mr Samel was abducted from his home in Raleigh Close, Handsworth, around 8.35am on March 27, 2019.
Mr Sandhu informed the court: “After he was kidnapped, he was falsely imprisoned – he was placed in a white Peugeot Boxer van and he was driven to Merseyside. In Merseyside he was tortured and he was caused really serious harm.
“As part of that torture his body was set on fire. After he was subjected to that torture, his body is likely to have been dumped in a remote rural location. Miraculously he was able to walk to the home of strangers who saw the state he was in and who called for an ambulance.”
During his opening address to jurors, Mr Sandhu said Mr Samel was given water after knocking at the door of a property near Bickerstaffe at 11.10pm on March 27.
Mr Samel was taken to Whiston Hospital in Prescot but passed away on June 21, 2019, due to his injuries. It is believed he was naked and seated when he was set alight.
Alleging that Wooden and Arthur were two of three men who went to Raleigh Close in the van, Mr Sandhu told the trial: “Tomasz Samel was not an angel but he did not deserve to be tortured and to be killed.”
Jones and Kozlowski were alleged by the Crown to have been present when Mr Samel was tortured and set ablaze, while Wooden and Arthur were “recruited” to become part of the planning, Mr Sandhu informed the court.
The murder of Mr Samel was tied to the confiscation of illegal and counterfeit cigarettes smuggled into the UK from Poland, the prosecutor also stated.
The court heard that the victim had a unit in Elkington Street, Aston, Birmingham, where HM Revenue and Customs had seized cigarettes on February 22, 2019.
Trial judge Mr Justice Wall informed Sandra Kozlowska that her being granted bail did not imply she would avoid prison when sentenced.
Kozlowski and Jones pleaded guilty to conspiracy to kidnap and conspiracy to falsely imprison before the trial commenced. Jones also admitted to manslaughter. Wooden and Arthur confessed to conspiracy to kidnap and conspiracy to falsely imprison.
Commenting on the investigation, Kate Seal, from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), said: “This was a brutal attack on a man who was kidnapped from his own home and subjected to horrendous violence.
“The CPS worked closely with West Midlands Police throughout this lengthy and complex investigation to pursue lines of inquiry and build a case using forensic, digital and witness evidence.
“Our thoughts remain with Mr Samel’s family, who have endured unimaginable suffering, including witnessing his abduction from their family home. I hope these verdicts provide some measure of closure and reassurance that justice has been achieved.”
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