TWO MEN have been found guilty of blackmailing a woman who handed over nearly £5,000 worth of jewellery.
The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, handed over the gold jewellery, given to her as a wedding present, because she ‘felt sorry’ for one of them.
She was told that she would be kidnapped and have acid thrown in her face if she went to the police.
Javaad Daar, 34, of Cliffe Street, Nelson, and Zilwan Saeed, 21, of St Ives Road, Halifax, were found guilty of blackmail after a five day trial at Preston Crown Court.
The woman was befriended by Saeed who would visit her through work two or three times a day.
The court heard that Saeed told the woman in January this year that he had come to the UK from Iraq but his mum was suffering from breast cancer and he also owed people money through drugs.
Feeling sorry for him, she handed over £800 worth of gold jewellery, given to her as a wedding present, to him in February of this year.
Just hours later she received a call from Saeed, who said he had somebody with him who wanted to speak to her.
He handed over the phone to Daar who told the woman that Saeed was working for him, and demanded more jewellery.
Daar told the woman that if she did not hand over the jewellery he would tell her husband and her family that she had been sleeping with Saeed.
The pair will be sentenced at Burnley Crown Court on September 20.