The two vigilantes were jailed after appearing at Maidstone Crown Court above

by Keith Hunt

Two vigilantes bundled a terrified teenager into boot of a car and drove off after accusing him of robbing a boy of a small amount of cash, a court heard.

Kamran Kamali and his brother-in-law Stephen Bates only travelled a short distance in the Mercedes with Jozef Bado in Chatham before they were stopped by the police and arrested.

The 18-year-old victim wept with relief as he thanked the two officers for rescuing him.

Kamali, of Balmoral Road, Gillingham, and Bates, of Chaucer Road, Gillingham, admitted kidnap and were each jailed for 18 months.

A judge told them: “It must be clearly understood that no-one in this country should take the law into their own hands, and those who do can expect nothing other than punishment.”

Judge Charles Byers added there was no evidence that the victim was responsible for a robbery, except for an unsatisfactory identification in the street.

Prosecutor Keith Yardy said the teenager was walking from work at Medway Hospital on September 27 last year and had reached Chatham Hill when he saw the Mercedes.

The car stopped and Kamali, 38, shouted at Jozef that he had robbed the boy of £10.

“Mr Bado protested his innocence, but Mr Kamali would not listen,” Mr Yardy told Maidstone Crown Court. “Mr Kamali and Mr Bates then grabbed hold of Mr Bado, who struggled to break free but could not do so.”

Kamali told the teenager they were going to take him somewhere. He and Bates, 32, dragged him to the boot and pushed him in.

“He was crying in distress and trying to resist being put into the boot,” said Mr Yardy. “The boot was closed and the car drove off.”

"it must have been a very frightening experience to be bundled into the boot of a car with the lid closed and driving off" – judge charles byers

It was stopped in Green Street by the officers and Kamali immediately opened the boot. Both men repeated the robbery allegation.

They at first claimed Jozef got into the car willingly. Kamali also stated he had made a citizen’s arrest and was going to take the teenager to the police station, but instead drove to Green Street to speak to his friend Darren Murphy, who runs a martial arts club there.

Bates said the intention had been to “shake the lad up verbally, but not physically”.

Mr Yardy said Kamali had 12 alias names and two alias dates of birth. Bates was in breach of a suspended sentence imposed for producing cannabis.

Judge Byers said Kamali “got it wrong” by accusing Jozef Bado, adding: “Even if they got it right, this sort of behaviour cannot in any way be approved of, by taking matters into their own hands and giving an 18-year-old by a fright in this way, whether he is guilty or not.

“It must have been a very frightening experience to be bundled into the boot of a car with the lid closed and driving off.”

The judge told Kamli and Bates: “What you did was quite wrong. You should have called the police and allowed the law to take its course. I can’t imagine a more frightening experience for such a young lad, particularly as there were two of you.”

Guy Bowden, for Kamali, said references for the father-of-four showed there was a different side to him.

“He has caused a great deal of stress to his wife of 15 years,” he said. “He acted in a hot-headed and stupid fashion. He ought to have called the police. No injury resulted, save for a sore neck.”

James Holland, for Bates, said his client had suffered serious mental problems, having been first sectioned when he was 20. He had serious drug problems but had not taken any for two years.