Man convicted of golf course kidnap

A man has been found guilty of being part of a gang who kidnapped a wealthy businessman from a championship golf course and kept him in a cage.

Dylan Huang was playing golf with his PA and two other women at Brocket Hall, Hertfordshire, in October, when five men bundled him into the back of a black Audio Q7.

Tianfu Guo, 35, of no fixed address, denied involvement and said he had flown to the UK from China for tourism and to look for work.

A jury at St Albans Crown Court convicted him of conspiracy to kidnap on or before 24 October last year and conspiracy to blackmail.

Prosecutor Russell Pyne said the victim, in his 30s, was put into the footwell of the rear of the car with a cover over his head and his captors' feet on top of him.

Mr Huang was taken to a property at Thursley, near Godalming in Surrey, where he was blindfolded, tape was put over his mouth. and he was put in a cage where he could not stand up straight, the prosecution told the court.

His captors had demanded he pay them $15m (£12m) in Bitcoin before they let him go, but they later released him near Silvermere Golf Club in Cobham, Surrey, after 30 hours of captivity.

Mr Huang told the police that no ransom had been paid to the men either by himself or by any of his contacts.

Guo had been arrested in Chinatown in London an hour before the time of Mr Huang‘s release.

He had been driving an Audi Q5 car that, the day before, had been tracked on a Automatic Number Plate Recognition camera travelling in convoy with the Audi Q7 - which had false registration plates - close to Brocket Hall Golf Club.

The next day the Audi Q5, which was a hire car with a genuine registration plate, had been tracked to an area just off the A3 south of Guildford.

When Guo was arrested the police found he had more than £4,000 in cash on him alongside Chinese passports and identity cards belonging to others.

There was also a video camera in the driver's door pocket, on the SD card the police found evidence Mr Huang was under surveillance.

Guo, who was aided in court by a Mandarin interpreter, said he was visiting the UK for two or three months and “was just a tourist”.

The married father-of-one travelled from Xi'an, China, to Heathrow Airport on 9 July 2023 on the recommendation of a friend.

He said he had nothing to do with the kidnap and had come to the UK for the purpose of sightseeing and to investigate any opportunities for work.

On the afternoon of 24 October, he said he was asked to drive a man to Welwyn Garden City in a Q5 Audi.

After dropping him off, he said he stayed in the area for several hours.

He said he rested at home and was called and given the postcode of an address near Guildford.

At about 16:30 BST Guo said he collected some food from a Tesco supermarket in Guildford before arranging to meet the man and hand it over.

He said left the area and headed towards Chinatown in London, where he was subsequently arrested.

Guo was cleared on a third charge of possessing an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence.

He is due to be sentenced on 25 April.

Follow East of England news on Facebook, Instagram and X. Got a story? Email [email protected] or WhatsApp us on 0800 169 1830