Kidnap Crew Leaves Elderly Man in Locked Boot After Electric Getaway Car Dies on the Run

A BUMBLING kidnap gang abandoned an OAP in the locked boot of a car after their electric getaway vehicle ran out of charge.

The 71-year-old victim was taken by burglars who broke into his home after seeing posts of him wearing expensive on .

The gang, comprising six men, have been jailed for 49 years in total Credit: Devon and Cornwall Police

He told a he thought he was going to die as his hands were cable tied, his mouth was taped up and he was put in the back of his own .

They planned to take him to an address in where they believed more watches were.

Two members of the gang, Altan O’Connell and Luke McInerney then drove up the M5, but had only reached Bridgwater when the battery ran critically low.

The pair put the victim in the boot, abandoned the car in a country lane near Puriton in and fled.

The victim was able to get himself free from the cable ties and get out the boot, find the keys and use the last ounce of battery power to get to a nearby supermarket where he raised the alarm.

In a statement to the court, he said: “I became genuinely frightened and believed I was likely to die.”

Franklin O’Dwyer, 25, O’Connell, 27, McInerney, 31, Nicholas O’Dwyer, 56, Dwain Stratford, 35, and Karl Houghton, 36, were all sentenced on July 14 at Exeter Crown Court.

The court was told their botched kidnap plan led the straight to them.

O’Dwyer, O’Connell and McInerny were involved in the initial kidnapping after they broke into his home in Torquay, , at 1am on January 14, 2026 – demanding he hand over his watches.

The men said they had seen the watches in videos on Instagram – which is how they often picked out their targets.

He was kidnapped after the victim informed the criminals that his watches had already been stolen.

The gang, all from from Swindon, , were sentenced to a combined 49 years in jail.

After the police linked the gang to similar crimes across the south-west, they pleaded guilty to various offences, including kidnap, false imprisonment, burglary, possession of , handling stolen goods and counterfeit currency.

Specialist officers reviewed phones linked to the group and found a number of search terms on Instagram linked to both the Torquay and Southampton jobs.

It is believed that they also used open-source research tools to find further information and help plan their crimes.

When the group were arrested, officers found stolen vehicles, multiple watches, jewellery, designer handbags, and cash in various addresses where they lived.

Franklin O’Dwyer was sentenced to 10 years and five months for his role in the kidnap and burglaries.

O’Connell and McInerney were both jailed for 11 years and 10 months.

Nicholas O’Dwyer, Stratford and Houghton, who were involved in other burglaries, were jailed for six years and three months, four years and eight months, and four years respectively.

Speaking after the case, Senior Investigating Officer Detective Inspector Tom Canning said: “This case has involved a significant involving multiple forces, specialist technical investigative skills, and collating a case while ultimately resulted in six guilty pleas.

“Social media is a common part of modern life, but this case is a reminder that it does come with risks and is an example of how people can seek out and use that information against you if they have ill intention.

“I would urge people to consider what they post onto social media and into the public domain.

“Do you know what information could be extracted from your pictures are video and even who can see them?”