Violent kidnapper has prison sentence extended

Christopher Griffiths, 46, was arrested at his former Peterborough home in 2022

A convicted kidnapper has had his prison sentence extended by two years and three months for drug charges.

Christopher Griffiths, 46, was arrested at his former Peterborough home in 2022 during a police warrant in connection with the kidnap and robbery of two construction workers.

Officers found about £2,410 of heroin and crack cocaine and he was charged with conspiracy to commit robbery and two counts of kidnap.

A separate investigation into drug dealing was run alongside the kidnap inquiry. Griffiths was jailed for 10 years in 2023 and received an extension to this at Peterborough Crown Court on Tuesday for the drug charges.

'Extreme calculated violence'

During a search of his home police said it was clear an area in the kitchen had been set up specifically for the preparation, weighing and wrapping of drugs.

Officers uncovered class A drugs in the kitchen and freezer, as well as a “burner” phone which constantly rang during the search.

Griffiths, now of HMP Highpoint, Suffolk, was said to have approached police officers with a machete as they raided his home.

He was later charged with conspiracy to commit robbery and two counts of kidnap, along with an accomplice.

Officers also uncovered up to about £2,410 of heroin and crack cocaine wraps throughout the kitchen

Det Con Craig Trevor said: “Griffiths is an extremely violent man who not only subjected two men to a horrendous ordeal where they suffered extreme calculated violence, but was also found with a significant amount of class A drugs, along with weapons, in his family home.

“He is part of organised criminality and I hope the action taken by both ourselves and the courts sends a clear message that we are working together to bring to justice those who choose to commit organised crime for their own personal gain.”