A member of an organised crime group was tortured, doused in petrol and set on fire to be 'taught a lesson' over the loss of 10 million cigarettes worth £1 million, a murder trial has heard.
Tomasz Samel, 45, was kidnapped in 2019 in Birmingham by three men claiming to be from Interpol, before being driven to Merseyside and attacked, prosecutors allege. The dad-of-two, who was the subject of an international arrest warrant, was then dumped in a remote location and died in Whiston Hospital in Prescot almost three months later, Birmingham Crown Court was told on Wednesday.
Kidnapping and Torture
Opening the Crown's case, prosecutor Harpreet Sandhu KC said Mr Samel was kidnapped from his home in Raleigh Close, Handsworth, at about 8.35am on March 27 2019. Alleging that Neil Jones, Kevin Wooden, Kye Arthur and Tobiasz Kozlowski are all guilty of Mr Samel's murder, Mr Sandhu said: 'After he was kidnapped, he was falsely imprisoned – he was placed in a white Peugeot Boxer van and he was driven to Merseyside. In Merseyside he was tortured and he was 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 Samel was taken to hospital, jurors were told, but he died on June 21 2019 as a result of his injuries.
Defendants and Charges
Wooden, aged 46, of Alma Road, Banbury, Oxfordshire; Arthur, 35, of Copley Gardens, Bristol; Jones, 48, of no fixed address, and Kozlowski, 38, of Crosland Road, Kirkby, Merseyside, all deny murder and conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm. Kozlowski's wife Sandra Kozlowska, aged 38 and also of Crosland Road, Kirkby, denies assisting an offender by helping him to avoid detection with intent to impede his apprehension or prosecution.
Alleging that Wooden and Arthur were two of three men who went to Raleigh Close in the van, Mr Sandhu added: 'The conspiracy to kidnap, falsely imprison and cause really serious harm existed to teach Tomasz Samel a lesson. Tomasz Samel was not an angel but he did not deserve to be tortured and to be killed. Tomasz Samel was involved in organised crime. In 2011 a European arrest warrant had been issued in respect of him in Poland. He was wanted and his extradition was sought.'
Link to Cigarette Seizure
When Mr Samel arrived in the Liverpool area, Mr Sandhu said, it was planned that 'he would be taken to a remote location where he would be taught a lesson'. Jones and Kozlowski are alleged by the Crown to have been present when Mr Samel was tortured and set on fire, while Wooden and Arthur were 'recruited' to become part of the planning, Mr Sandhu told the court. Mr Samel's killing was linked to the seizure of illicit and counterfeit cigarettes which had been smuggled into the UK from Poland, the prosecutor also said. The victim had a unit in Elkington Street, Aston, Birmingham, the court heard, where HM Revenue and Customs seized cigarettes on February 22 2019. Mr Sandhu added: 'The seizure of those cigarettes was a huge blow to those who had organised their importation.'
At the time of the kidnapping, Mr Samel and his partner thought he was being arrested, jurors heard. During his opening speech to jurors, Mr Sandhu said Mr Samel was given water after knocking at the door of a property near Bickerstaffe in Lancashire at 11.10pm on March 27. Mr Sandhu said: 'When the occupant opened the door it was obvious to her that Tomasz Samel was in pain. He said that he had been attacked. He did say that he had been kidnapped from his home in Birmingham and locked in a garage. He said he had been driven to the location he was now at, where he had been dumped. He said that petrol had been poured on him.'
Injuries and Aftermath
Mr Sandhu said that paramedics who arrived at the scene believed Mr Samel's genitals 'had been the area which had been targeted the most by fire'. The Crown's KC said Mr Samel, who died despite treatment at Whiston Hospital, is believed to have been naked and in a seated position when he was set alight. Jones has pleaded guilty to manslaughter, conspiracy to kidnap and conspiracy to falsely imprison. Wooden, Arthur and Kozlowski all deny manslaughter. Kozlowski further denies conspiracy to kidnap and conspiracy to falsely imprison. Jones, Wooden and Arthur have admitted conspiracy to falsely imprison and conspiracy to kidnap. The trial continues.
