Four men jailed for driver kidnap and cognac theft

Four men have been jailed for a total of 24 years for their part in the kidnapping of a French truck driver two years ago and the theft of his load of cognac. When they appeared at Winchester Crown Court Dean Swanson of Kirkby, Liverpool was jailed for five years Barry Adams of Maghal, Liverpool for five and a half years and Michael Slinger of Thornton, Liverpool for six years.

All three had admitted theft charges. John Moorcroft of no fixed abode was jailed for seven years after he pleaded guilty to robbery. The charges related to an incident on 29 November 2005 at Sutton Scotney services on the A34. Three men in balaclavas smashed their way into the cab of a French truck and driver Patrick Pledron was kidnapped his load of £85,000 worth of Courvoisier cognac was stolen.

The driver was driven 10km north of the services and transferred to a Ford Transit van. He was held prisoner for five hours. The truck was recovered, minus its load, after it was involved in a collision with a van. Police raided a nearby warehouse in early December and found barcodes and packaging related to the brandy.