Two men were rescued after they were chained to radiators and tortured.
Armed officers stormed a house after receiving information two Albanian men were being held against their will there. Officers found two men chained to radiators in separate rooms upstairs, both lying next to empty dog food bowls which they had been forced to eat out of after being starved for days.
One of the men had severe burn injuries to his hand after being assaulted and scalded, and when he saw the officers he muttered "thank you". Downstairs, armed police arrested Valdemaras Kasinskas and Andi Alushi on suspicion of wounding.
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Detective Chief Inspector Mark Oughton, who led the investigation, said: "What officers found inside that house was deeply disturbing, clear evidence two people had been kept prisoner and subjected to absolutely barbaric treatment. Torture is the only word to describe what Kasinskas and Alushi did to one of the victims, giving him violent beatings and burning him with scalding liquid, causing significant burn injuries.
"As we dug deeper into this horrific case, we learned the motive for Kasinskas and Alushi’s sadistic crimes was to elicit money from the victims’ families back in Albania. The pair blamed the victims for one of their cannabis warehouses being dismantled - a clear indication of their involvement in organised criminality and large-scale drugs supply - and as such, filmed the victims enduring humiliating and degrading treatment in the hope they could blackmail their families.”
At a hearing in Sheffield Crown Court last month, Alushi, 27, formerly of Breeze Hill, Liverpool, and Kasinskas, 39, whose former address is not known, both pleaded guilty to two counts of false imprisonment at a house in Sheffield on Saturday, May 14, 2022. Both were sentenced to 14-and-a-half years in prison on January 3.
DCI Oughton added: “When faced with the victims’ testimony, forensic evidence, telephone and digital evidence, this criminal duo saw no option but to enter guilty pleas the week before trial was due to start. This conviction would not have been successful without the bravery of the two victims, the dedicated efforts of investigating officers and staff, as well as the invaluable support of international law enforcement agencies.”
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