This is the moment an Irish gangster is arrested by armed police for threatening to shoot two brothers in the head as part of a blackmail plot over £330,000 in unpaid debt – as he is jailed 15 years.
Darren McLean, 38, who has links to Limerick’s infamous McCarthy-Dundon gang, was sentenced to ten years’ imprisonment on Friday at Wood Green Crown Court and received another five years for unrelated offences.
In January, McLean – whose real name is actually Gerard Dundon – was found guilty of two charges of conspiracy to blackmail and one count of conspiracy to falsely imprison.
The court heard how two brothers from Stoke-on-Trent travelled to London in July 2020 and were subjected to blackmail threats over the huge sum, during which McLean threatened to splatter their brains ‘all over the road’.
After taking the pair – who cannot be named – captive and holding them at a travellers’ site at Smithy Fen, Cambridgeshire, they were made to wash with Dettol spray and were forced to call their relatives to get over £300,000 to secure their release.
Darren McLean, 38, can be seen talking to police officers as they pull him over at a travellers’ site at Smithy Fen, Cambridgeshire
These demands continued for the next few days until July 16, when armed police stopped a yellow transit van leaving the site.
Body-cam footage shows officers approaching the van and McLean causing deliberate damage to a mobile phone he was carrying which was later identified as being one of the phones used to make threats and demands.
Darren McLean is a former member of Limerick’s infamous McCarthy-Dundon gang and his real name is actually Gerard Dundon
Police open the van door to find one of the victims inside but McClean claims it is ‘his mate’. The victim reported being threatened with violence and racially abused.
Anne Whyte KC, prosecuting, told the court how the brothers were driven to a flat in Highbury Hill, near Arsenal football stadium, on 8 July 2020 in a hired BMW car.
One of the victims said they believed they were meeting someone to pay a debt of £7,500 they owed to a man called Warren Crossan, who was shot dead in Belfast in June 2020.
One of the brothers believed the debt had been passed to a man who called him from an unknown number.
‘Some of the men in the flat were armed,’ said Mr Whyte.
‘McLean was wearing jogging bottoms, a jacket and a facemask. The victim could see a handgun in McLean’s waistband.
‘Inside the flat, McLean spoke to the victims. Then, without warning, four or five black men “stormed” into the room. They were all armed with knives or bladed weapons.’
‘The victims were pushed to the floor and told not to move. Mobile phones and wallets were taken from them.
McClean stays calm and shows the police officers his hands when asked
Asked by the police what’s in his van, McClean then says ‘my mate’
The armed officer walks round to the other side to open the door
Pictured: the travellers’ site at Smithy Fen in Cambridgeshire
‘Between them they were carrying over £2,000 in cash. The car keys to the BMW were also taken.’
The victims’ hands were bound with by parcel tape and they were led from the flat.
‘They were then held against their will at different locations and blackmailed,’ Ms Whyte said.
‘During this time they were both held against their will. On occasion, they were threatened with weapons, bound and blindfolded.’
They were first held for a number of hours in a fenced or caged area in a disused warehouse, where they were warned not to touch anything or else they could be electrocuted.
They were told they owed Crossan £330,000.
Ms Whyte said: ‘The victim told the men that he didn’t have £330,000. One of the men shouted for a machete and said that they would have to ‘start taking fingers off’.
‘Soon after being kidnapped in London, they were moved by car to a place called Smithy Fen, a travellers’ site north of Cambridge. There, they were both held captive.
‘Over the days that followed, demands were made for a large sum of money to secure their release. The scale of the demands would vary but were as high as over £300,000 at one stage.
‘Both victims were held captive together at Smithy Fen until 13 July in a room containing furniture and a washing machine.
‘One recalls speaking to someone on the phone with a strong Irish accent. He recalls being further threatened with knives.
At one point McLean bundled one of the victims in the back of an old BMW and drove him to a remote location surrounded by trees.
‘He said that his family owned 50 acres of land and many JCBs. They could use them to dig a hole and throw him in,’ the prosecutor said.
In a recording of a call made to relatives of the victims, McLean says: ‘If you f*** up I’m going to put their brains all over the road okay.
It is then revealed that one of the victims has been laying on a bed in the back of the van
McLean was jailed for ten years for his involvement in a plot to blackmail two Stoke-on-Trent brothers
‘If you f*** my people around I’m gonna shoot these two dudes in the head.’
Throughout the ordeal, one of the victims was afraid he would have his finger cut off.
‘He feared that he was about to lose a finger’, said Ms Whyte.
‘On occasion he was called racist names and was threatened with violence on account of his ethnicity.’
The second victim claimed he was driven by McLean from Smithy Fen to London where he was given money and one of his phones and told to go home to help raise more money to secure his brother’s release.
He was held captive at Smithy Fen and demand calls continued.
Judge John Dodd told McLean: ‘You are a committed career criminal.
He accepted McLean had been acting under the directions of others, as he believed one of the victims had access to large amounts of money.
‘That does not excuse your conduct which was appalling, but it does provide some context for events that would otherwise be inexplicable,’ the judge said.
‘The full truth relating to the events of July 2020 has not emerged, and is unlikely to do so now.
‘I am satisfied that you brandished a handgun at various points. You were content to humiliate both victims.’
Judge Dodd said both victims were threatened and their family was called, making them fear for their lives.
‘You can be heard threatening to shoot both men in the head, and to splatter their brains over the road if your demands were not met. Your behaviour was cruel and vicious.’
Deputy Senior Investigating Officer, Detective Sergeant Garry Jackson said: ‘This was a terrifying experience for the victims. It also had a profound impact on their family members and friends.
‘The investigation was incredibly complex and involved a number of police forces who supported our efforts, including the Metropolitan Police and Cambridgeshire Constabulary.
‘I would like to thank all of the officers and staff involved from Staffordshire for working tirelessly on the case. As a force we are committed to tackling and disrupting organised criminality.
‘I also want to express our thanks to the prosecuting barristers Anne Whyte KC and Eloise Emanuel KC who have presented the case to the court, the jury, and also to Mr David Parsons, the reviewing lawyer from the Crown Prosecution Service, who has advised on the case since the start of the investigation.
‘We’re pleased that McLean will now be serving a substantial sentence which reflects the seriousness of this disturbing crime.’
Five others were arrested and charged as part of the investigation and found not guilty during the trial.
