THREE gang members have been found guilty of a kidnap which saw two men snatched from a sports shop, held hostage for a week and threatened with murder.

Six men, one armed with a gun, burst into the store in Ladbroke Grove on August 2 last year.

After ransacking the shop, the gang handcuffed the two shop workers, one of whom was a friend of pop singer Lily Allen. They forced them into a car and took them to kidnapper Kishmore Kumpati’s home in Greenhaven Drive, Thamesmead.

They were kept handcuffed and blindfolded with tape for seven days, tortured and told they would be killed while ransom demands were made to their families.

News Shopper: Two shop workers were kidnapped and held hostage by the gang

Police mounted a surveillance operation, with armed officers rescuing the hostages from the flats where they were being held.

The men had been showered and dressed in black bin liners before being taken out, indicating that they were being led to their death when police stepped in.

At Southwark Crown Court on Friday, Thijseen Johns Elliot, aged 28, of Siddons Road, Forest Hill, was found guilty of false imprisonment and blackmail.

Jason Goode, aged 27, of Verdant Lane, Hither Green, was convicted of false imprisonment but cleared of blackmail.

A third man, from east London, was found guilty of kidnap and blackmail.

Previously, Paul Wigan, aged 29, of Milford Towers, Catford, and 29-year-old Kumpati both pleaded guilty to false imprisonment and blackmail.

A sixth man, from east London, also pleaded to kidnap and blackmail.

They will be sentenced on October 12. News Shopper: Two shop workers were kidnapped and held hostage by the gang

Detective Inspector Steve Wagstaff said: "This was a violent and organised kidnap where those responsible showed little concern for the welfare of the two hostages, holding them in extreme conditions and exposing them to violence and psychological torture.

“Their only concern was the payment of a ransom - the fate of both hostages seemed immaterial.”

Police are still looking for five unidentified men who entered the shop.

Anyone with information should call the police on 020 7230 9315.