A GANG of kidnappers who abducted a businessman in a £2.5 million ransom plot were jailed today.

The six-strong gang, who had admitted snatching shopkeeper Javed Mukhtar from his home in Glasgow last year, were given sentences ranging from three years to more than 12.

Ringleader Darren Wright, 31, was jailed for 11 years and three months for his part in the kidnap.

Peter Haining, 28, was jailed for 12 and a half years, David Smith, 37, for five years and three months, and Ian Rosales, 19, was given three years. They are all from Heywood, Greater Manchester.

Leslie White, 65, of Craigavon, Co Armagh, was given a six-year sentence, and Craig Adams, 23, of Bury, was jailed for four years and 10 months.

Passing sentence at the High Court in Glasgow, Lord Hodge told the defendants the kidnapping of the shopkeeper had been a "very serious criminal enterprise" which led to a "stressful and prolonged deal" for Mr Mukhtar and his family.

Devout Muslim Mr Mukhtar, 58, was seized from his family home in the Crossmyloof area of the city during Ramadan on September 29 last year.

The armed gang bundled him into a van before driving him, handcuffed and hooded, 200 miles to the Heywood area where he was moved around three flats in a 25-day ordeal.

The gang made ransom demands from public phone boxes to their captive's family home and shop in Rutherglen, near Glasgow.

But the kidnappers were eventually caught after going to collect a case containing £400,000, dropped off on the M6 on October 23.

After picking up the money, they freed Mr Mukhtar from a van in Warrington, but officers, lying in wait, swooped and arrested them.

As the main organisers of the plot, Haining and Wright were handed the longest sentences.

Lord Hodge branded them "the ringleaders" and "the prime movers in the offence".

Former soldier Wright admitted three charges but also entered a plea of diminished responsibility.

He claimed to be suffering from various mental problems including post traumatic stress disorder after serving with the Army in Afghanistan.

Wright claimed he saw and handled dead bodies and this led him to suffer a breakdown on his return and ultimately to his involvement in the plot.

Taking this into account, the judge reduced his sentence by two years.

But Lord Hodge also told him he had been providing a service to "criminal persons that were unknown" to him.

Haining had a pivotal role in the plot, which required detailed planning, specialist equipment and weapons, the court heard.

Adams, 23, had been the van driver for the gang, taking Mr Mukhtar from Glasgow to Manchester.

But his "comparative youth" and "limited involvement" saw him handed a shorter sentence of four years and 10 months.

Rosales' role was limited to detaining the victim at various locations in Manchester and Warrington.

Lord Hodge said: "Your role was minor compared to others, but you were involved in a professional kidnap and must face the consequences."

Taking into account his young age of 19 and his stable family background, he was given a three-year sentence.

Smith held Javed Mukhtar at his house for nine days. During this period he was forced to wear handcuffs and fed only irregularly, the court heard.

"He described this time as an absolutely terrible experience," the judge said.

White did most of the negotiating and had a string of previous convictions including an eight-year jail term for armed robbery.