'Cowardly' robbers trapped student victim in alley

Aqeel Hussain, Oliver Sapounov, Sefa Duzgun and Adeel Din have all been locked up

Four "cowardly" men have been jailed after a student was "frogmarched" into an alleyway and held there for about 40 minutes during a robbery.

The 19-year-old victim was grabbed by three masked men in Wellington Street, Nottingham, dragged into an alleyway and trapped behind a gate in the early hours of Tuesday 18 April 2023.

He was forced to hand over his iPhone and passcode, with his banking app then used to transfer £1,539.63, Nottinghamshire Police said.

But after CCTV and financial investigations were used to trace the men through food they had bought in Hockley, four men were jailed at Nottingham Crown Court on Friday.

One of the three robbers was identified as Oliver Sapounov, 23, of Hartley Road in Luton, who was one of three directors at a company set up two months before the robbery.

The other two directors were Aqeel Hussain, 23, of Avebury Avenue, Luton, and 22-year-old Sefa Duzgan, of Hazellville Road, Islington, who previously attended a Luton college with Sapounov.

All three matched the CCTV images of the robbers.

The victim was dragged down an alleyway in Wellington Street

Police executed a warrant at Sapounov's home where the victim's iPhone was found in a bedroom.

Hussain was also arrested during a warrant, with Duzgan handing himself in.

A fourth person, Adeel Din, 23, of Manton Drive in Luton, was arrested after bank enquiries linked him to the gang.

Hussain, Duzgan and Din entered guilty pleas to multiple offences at Nottingham Crown Court, while Sapounov was found guilty by a jury.

At their sentencing hearing at the same court on Friday, Sapounov was jailed for six years for kidnap, false imprisonment, robbery, money laundering and a counterfeit money charge.

Both Hussain and Duzgun were jailed for five years and three months for kidnap, false imprisonment, robbery and money laundering, while Din was jailed for 18 months for money laundering.

Det Con John Hollis said the gang's actions were "cowardly" and praised the bravery of the victim, who had been "subjected to a horrific crime".

He added: "It is clear the defendants worked together, by purposefully targeting a lone student, and by covering their faces they thought they could get away with their crimes.

"The defendants were clearly shocked to be caught."