Thugs tortured two men kept as 'slaves' in flat and set one victim on fire
Two men have been jailed after they kept a pair of victims as "slaves" and set one of them on fire.
Roheed Ahmed, 22, and Kameron Hussain, 23, tortured two vulnerable men they held in a flat in Wolverhampton, West Midlands.
Their victims were beaten, forced to provide foot massages, had their wallets taken and their heads shaved, a court heard. Birmingham Live reported that one victim had his head set on fire.
Ahmed, from Lewis Street in Walsall, and Hussain, from Cecil Street in Walsall, were sentenced on Monday having already pleaded guilty to a series of charges at Wolverhampton Crown Court in April.
The were each sentenced to nine years and eight months in prison, with a further three years on extended licence, for false imprisonment, racially aggravated assault, assault, possessing an article and theft.
The pair targeted three men - the owner of the flat they took over, and the two men they tortured inside it.
A security guard outside a supermarket called police after seeing one of the victims, while the other later fled the flat barefoot.
The victims were stripped naked and assaulted with broom handles and bed slats, West Midlands Police said. Both had their heads shaved and one had liquid poured over him which was set alight.
They had their faces burned with lighters and one of the victims was forced to work at a garage with only a meal for payment.
Detective Constable Moorhouse, from West Midlands Police CID, said: “The degradation and humiliation these men suffered was inhuman. They were completely controlled and treated worse than animals.
“There could be no motive for this other than some sort of perverted pleasure and they have been quite rightly put behind bars. I hope that their victims are now getting the full care and support they need.”
The torture came to light on 24 October 2021 when an eagle-eyed security guard saw the men beating one of their victims in a car in an Asda supermarket car park. He tracked their movements in the store on CCTV and alerted police.
A few hours later their Nissan Micra was stopped in Rugby and the two men were arrested. Their victim was immediately safeguarded.
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The men's first victim had mental health problems and was discharged from hospital in 2021, before he ended up living in the flat, where he met Ahmed.
He was "plied with drugs" and started drinking again, Wolverhampton Crown Court heard, and told to make cups of tea and give foot massages to Ahmed and his associates. He was fed drugs and threats of violence were made and often carried out.
The victim was told he owed money for the drugs given to him, his bank cards were taken and funds removed.
He said he believed the defendants "got kicks out of beating him". His hair was shaved off before he was made to strip and run naked outside in the cold.
The defendants beat the victim with sticks and made him "bark like a dog", the court heard.
Judge John Butterfield KC told the defendants: "The victims both suffered mental health problems and most likely both suffered from addiction issues that left them without a proper home.
"Each man was highly vulnerable, the two of you took advantage to enslave and abuse them, the level of vile treatment was at times equivalent to torture."
