Gang member jailed for kidnap of golfer at Brocket Hall

A member of a gang who kidnapped a wealthy Chinese businessman from a golf course has been jailed for 12 years.

Tianfu Guo, now 37, claimed he was a tourist and had played no part in the 30-hour ordeal of Dylan Huang.

The victim was grabbed by five well-dressed men claiming to be the Chinese police while playing at the Brocket Hall course in Welwyn Garden City.

Mr Huang was kept in a dog cage and released a day later after Guo was arrested, St Albans Crown Court heard.

Earlier this month a jury convicted Guo of conspiracy to kidnap on or before 24 October 2023 and conspiracy to blackmail.

He was cleared of possessing an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence.

Prosecutor Russel Pyne said six other suspects - Liang Tang, Wen Ji Nan, Xianchao Chen, Yazhou Tao, Yuan Gui Jin and Hanzhi Jiang - were on the run.

Mr Huang, who is in his 30s and works in London and Singapore, was playing golf with his personal assistant and two other women in Hertfordshire when five Chinese men jumped out of a car and rushed at him.

One pointed a gun while he was hit in the face and eyes and forced into the back of the black Audi Q7.

Mr Pyne said: "Mr Huang was taken to a property at Thursley near Guildford in Surrey, where he was blindfolded and tape was put over his mouth.

"He was walked up some spiral stairs before being placed in a cage, where he could not stand up straight. He was given food, but was not allowed out to use the lavatory."

A ransom of $15m (about £12m) in Bitcoin was demanded, but not paid.

Mr Huang was interviewed at home by the police the day after he was released in a remote area near the Silvermere Golf course in Cobham, Surrey, close to the junction of the M25 and A3.

He raised the alarm at an isolated house at about 23:00 BST on 25 October.

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 the day before, which 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, was tracked to an area just off the A3 south of Guildford.

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

The court heard one of Mr Huang's friends had put $318,000 (£253,703) into a crypto account that was due to be transferred to China when the banks opened there, but the kidnappers fled before any money was transferred.

Mr Guo, who was aided by a Mandarin interpreter, was told by Judge Michael Roques: "I have no doubt you were planning to leave the jurisdiction as soon as the ransom was paid.

"Within 40 minutes of your arrest, your co-conspirators suddenly decided to let Mr Huang go. There is no doubt in my mind they had heard of your arrest and panicked."

He said: "This was a professionally planned and executed kidnap and blackmail... Your role was central."

The kidnap "had a huge psychological impact on Mr Huang", the judge added.

Got a story? Email [email protected] or WhatsApp 0800 169 1830