Bodybuilder 'kidnapped' over pills

Defendants (from left) Khalid Slaimankhel, Jen Jay Law, and Junior Paea. Photo / Jason Oxenham

A bodybuilder who became the victim of a kidnapping was allegedly tricked into attending a meeting with his kidnappers by a friend who pretended to be in a Burger King toilet with a flat mobile phone battery.

"Inside brother where you was just taking a dump my phone is going to die G" Jen Jay Law allegedly texted Marven Yacoub when he was late for a meeting at Burger King Mangere in February 2013.

Law, who is one of three men accused of kidnapping Mr Yacoub, was in Hamilton at the time. Mr Yacoub was instead met by Junior Iolimo Paea and two unknown associates.

The Crown alleges Mr Yacoub was then taken against his will to a meeting with fellow bodybuilder Khalid Naser Slaimankhel and forced to swear an affidavit taking responsibility for 1048 "steroid fat burner" pills found by police in the boot of Slaimankhel's BMW.

Slaimankhel, Law and Paea are accused of kidnapping, while Slaimankhel and Paea face an additional charge of perverting the course of justice.

Slaimankhel was already on bail after being arrested over alleged steroid and party pill dealing.

A condition of Slaimankhel's bail was that he was not allowed to use or be in possession of steroids or controlled medicines without a prescription.

Slaimankhel was under police observation when he met Mr Yacoub in the carpark at the Sylvia Park mall on February 1, 2013. Slaimankhel's car was stopped by police, who discovered 1048 green pills stamped with British pound signs divided into 10 snaplock bags in the boot of the car.

Slaimankhel allegedly told police the pills were "steroid fat burners". Testing later confirmed the pills contained two controlled medicines, yohimbine and androstenidione. Slaimankhel was released subject to a bail hearing on February 12.

Mr Yacoub was arrested on February 4 after more green pills and what appeared to be vials of steroids were found at his house.

The Crown alleges Slaimankhel came to believe Mr Yacoub was a police "snitch". He decided Mr Yacoub would "step up and help him with the situation he found himself in and he wasn't going to give him any choice", Crown prosecutor Claire Paterson told the court.

Slaimankhel then met Law and hatched a plan to kidnap Mr Yacoub, the Crown alleges.

Slaimankhel allegedly told Mr Yacoub that he had "f***ed up" and "you're going to take the rap for this" once he turned up at the offices of his lawyer Isaac Koya. Paea allegedly threatened Mr Yacoub while Slaimankhel whispered to him what he should state in his affidavit.

The affidavit was signed by Mr Koya and another lawyer, Gary Gotlieb, and presented at Slaimankhel's bail hearing.

Mr Yacoub, who had been instructed by Slaimankhel to appear as a witness at his bail hearing, instead called police.

Defence counsel for Slaimankhel, Mark Ryan, told the court there had been no kidnapping and that Mr Yacoub had given the affidavit of his own free will.

Paea's counsel, Paul Heaslip, said "Mr Paea has nothing to do with any of this". Law's counsel, Hugh Leaborn, said his client did not dispute sending texts to Mr Yacoub and Slaimankhel to arrange the meeting but that it should be asked if there was a kidnapping at all, and if there was, whether Law knew about it.