Flatmates kidnapped student, court told

A student's countryside picnic with a flatmate and another friend ended in him being half-throttled, handcuffed and drugged during a week long kidnap ordeal, a court heard today.

For the first 48 hours the terrified 18-year-old was kept prisoner in a tent in an isolated forest glade in the middle of winter while his wealthy father was ordered to pay a £100,000 ransom for his release.

He was allegedly warned any approach to the police would result in the youngster being sent back to him "in pieces".

As the negotiations dragged on, the kidnappers forced their victim into the back of a car and held him there during a 96-hour shuttle from one fax machine to another as a flurry of demands and instructions were sent across Europe, London's Middlesex Guildhall Crown Court was told.

At one stage a passing police patrol spotted them all fast asleep in a car park and decided to investigate.But because Latvian Maksims Veikuts was scared the two officers would be shot if he raised the alarm, he felt he had no choice but to keep quiet and watch his chance of freedom disappear as the men returned to their vehicle.

By this time his frantic family had raised the alarm and an international operation was launched to track down the student and his alleged captors, said Roger Smart, prosecuting.

And just hours later his ordeal finally came to an end when armed police spotted the travelling "prison" in East London, surrounded the vehicle, and arrested Teymuraz Chepurov and Irina Petrusina at gunpoint.

The couple, aged 37 and 36 respectively deny kidnapping, false imprisonment and blackmail between December 1 and 8 last year.