Ilford double murder: Ex-officer jailed for Russian New Year stabbings

Dainius Kulboka and Jonas Semenas were found at a property in Tavistock Gardens

A former Georgian police officer has been jailed for at least 35 years for the "savage" and "premeditated" murder of two friends in east London.

Vepkhvia Laliashivili, 53, fatally stabbed Lithuanians Dainius Kulboka, 44, and Jonas Semenas, 45, last year.

The trio had been celebrating the Russian New Year on 10 January, 2020.

Laliashivili, who was convicted of both murders, previously worked for the Georgian ministry of internal affairs and moved to the UK in 2005.

The Old Bailey heard how after midnight the victims were found dead in Mr Kulboka's home in Tavistock Gardens in Ilford.

All three had spent the evening drinking around eight bottles of spirits.

At an earlier hearing prosecutor James Dawes said the killings were carried out in the "most brutal fashion".

One victim suffered 52 stab wounds and the other had nine, the court was told.