A CHINESE drugs gang abducted a man from his home and beat him because they thought he had stolen part of a cannabis crop, a court has heard.
Neighbours watched in horror as Zhang Hou was dragged from the house in Edinburgh by a gang of 15 men and bundled into a car before being driven off.
He was taken to another house in the city, tied up, punched and kicked in the head and body and t
hreatened.
But the gang later gave him money and let him go after finding they had attacked the wrong man.
Three of the gang admitted their parts in the incident at the High Court in Edinburgh today.
Enoch Chan, 21, Matthew Rushfirth, 17, and Kasper Wong, 31, admitted assaulting and abducting Mr Hou during the incident on April 5 last year.
Temporary judge Sheriff Roger Craik deferred sentence on all three until next month for background reports.
The court was told an "internal feud" within a cannabis farming gang had led to 31-year-old Mr Hou's abduction in April last year.
And the incident at the house in Ellens Glen Road led to a number of arrests and convictions as part of Operation Arduous – a large scale police investigation into drugs and immigration.
The gang had planned the abduction of Mr Hou at Edinburgh restaurant Saigon Saigon on the afternoon of April 4, 2008, said advocate depute Leanne Cross, prosecuting.
"Police believe that someone within the gang may have stolen part of the cannabis crop prior to it being harvested in full, and this person was the intended target," said Ms Cross.
"It was clear to everyone in the group that the incident would be violent."
Later that night, Chan, Rushfirth and Wong were among 15 men who went to Ellens Glen Road in three separate cars armed with weapons.
Finding Mr Hou alone in the property, they smashed their way in at 12.50am, punching and kicking the terrified victim and dragging him out.
A neighbour was woken by loud voices and looked out to see a group of five or six men outside Mr Hou's home, and one was holding a metal club or baseball bat.
"He watched the males entering the house and removing someone from the house who he described as fighting for his life," said Ms Cross.
"He watched these males dragging the male along the street."
"As he was dragged along the street to the car, the accused continued to strike him on the head and body and (Mr Hou) saw various members of the group brandishing weapons."
Other neighbours reported seeing the group holding sticks, bits of wood and a baseball bat and one noted the car registration and called police.
Mr Hou was driven to a house in Castleview Grove and taken into a room, where his hands were tied and he was threatened by several men.
"After he had been in the house for some time, the complainer heard discussions going on between the males – and it became clear that he was not the person they had been looking for," said the prosecutor.
"(Mr Hou) had not been involved in any theft from the cultivation gang. Eventually this was accepted and the complainer was given some money and placed in a taxi."
Mr Hou went to stay with a friend, who described him as looking "terrible" with cuts on his head, arms, hands and feet.
He was later convicted of cultivating cannabis at the property, but was one of the more minor players in the operation, said Ms Cross.
Chan pled guilty to forcing his way into the house in Ellens Glen Road, grabbing hold of Mr Hou while others attacked him, dragging him outside and bundling him into the car.
Rushfirth and Wong admitted forcing their way into the house, and pled guilty to being present in a house at Castleview Grove while Mr Hou was later assaulted.
Chan, of Grange Loan, Edinburgh, Rushfirth, of Fairfield Terrace, Leeds, and Wong, of Stanningley Road, Leeds, were allowed to remain on bail until sentencing.
