Tobiasz Kozlowski, 38, of Crosland Road, Kirkby, has been pictured after being convicted of murdering Tomasz Samel, a member of an organised crime group who was tortured, doused in petrol and set alight. The conviction follows a trial at Birmingham Crown Court, where jurors deliberated for more than 11 hours before unanimously finding Kozlowski and Neil Jones, 48, of no fixed address, guilty of murder and conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm.
Four men convicted over killing
Co-defendants Kevin Wooden, 46, of Alma Road, Banbury, Oxfordshire, and Kye Arthur, 35, of Copley Gardens, Bristol, were cleared of murder and conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm but found guilty of manslaughter. All four men were remanded in custody for sentencing on October 9.
Kozlowski's wife, Sandra Kozlowska, 38, also of Crosland Road, was found guilty of assisting an offender by helping him avoid detection by police. She was bailed and will also be sentenced on October 9. Trial judge Mr Justice Wall told Kozlowska that being granted bail was not an indication she would not go to prison.
Kidnap and torture in 2019
Mr Samel, a father of two who was subject to an international arrest warrant, was kidnapped from his home in Raleigh Close, Handsworth, at about 8.35am on March 27, 2019. Prosecutor Harpreet Sandhu KC said Mr Samel was placed in a white Peugeot Boxer van and driven to Merseyside, where he was tortured and caused really serious harm.
“As part of that torture his body was set on fire. After he was subjected to that torture, his body is likely to have been dumped in a remote rural location. Miraculously he was able to walk to the home of strangers who saw the state he was in and who called for an ambulance,” Mr Sandhu told the court.
Victim died months later
Mr Samel was given water after knocking at a property near Bickerstaffe at 11.10pm on March 27. He was taken to Whiston Hospital but died on June 21, 2019, as a result of his injuries. He is believed to have been naked and in a seated position when set alight.
The killing was linked to the seizure of illicit and counterfeit cigarettes smuggled into the UK from Poland. Chief Superintendent Scott Griffiths, who led the investigation, said: “Tomasz would have suffered an unimaginable amount of pain when he was tortured, and his agony continued for the months leading up to his death. The violence that was inflicted on him does not bear thinking about, and those that were willing to do that to another human being are clearly very dangerous individuals.”
“Our investigation has spanned many years and many countries, as we pieced together people's movements, mobile phone data, CCTV, and other information to build a picture of what happened on that night. I'm pleased that after more than seven years, we have finally been able to get justice for Tomasz and his family, and hope that it will offer some small level of comfort to those who knew and loved him.”
The investigation took officers to Poland, Greece, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Columbia, France, Scotland and Wales, where the organised crime group had operations or fled to after the kidnap.
