A brutal drugs gang took over a vulnerable man's home and forced him into packaging up crack cocaine and heroin deals, making his life so unbearable he was driven to trying to take his own life.
However, the man's attempt to commit suicide alerted police to the gang's activities at his home, a court heard.
Cop inquiries uncovered the violence and exploitation he had endured at the hands of the four men in Ashby, Leicestershire, who appeared at Leicester Crown Court on March 11 to be sentenced for their crimes.
The ringleader, Kyle O'Neill, along with "right hand man" Scott Elton were involved in the operation, alongside Jame Wileman and Ian Diamond. All four admitted to conspiring together to trade in Class A drugs, Leicestershire Live reports.
A jury had previously convicted O'Neill, 32, and Elton, 30, of a modern day slavery offence, specifically, 'conspiracy to require someone to perform forced or compulsory labour', which they denied.
Wileman, 28, and Diamond, 42, who also denied modern slavery, were both acquitted of that offence.
The court was told that O’Neill befriended the victim, who is in his 50s, in late 2016 and later introduced him to Elton, Wileman and Diamond.
Over the subsequent months, the man was forced to store cash and drugs for the gang.
John Hallissey, prosecuting, said the victim was assaulted, subjected to threats and eventually forced to package up wraps of crack-cocaine and heroin, for onward sale.
Police were called to the victim’s home in September 2017 to investigate a report of concern for his welfare. They discovered he had taken an overdose and was taken to hospital.
Passing sentence on Friday, (March 11), Judge Mark Watson said the victim described "receiving a leathering" and being put under "constant pressure" to continue working for O'Neill and Elton, against his wishes "for several months."
It was estimated at least a kilo of class A drugs were processed at the man's address, where large sums of cash in the form of "rolls of money" were also kept.
Judge Watson said the defendants had an "expectation of significant financial advantage", adding that Elton was a "party to the oppression" of the victim, but played a lesser role than O'Neill.
Elton ceased involvement in the dealing, before the victim's suicide attempt, the court heard.
The judge said the complainant described feeling "trapped and powerless to live his life the way he wanted."
Wileman, an addict at the time, was said to have been a drug delivery driver, acting under directions.
The court heard that he was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment for unrelated drug dealing activities and a manslaughter offence, involving his role in the death of Mark Swinhoe, in Loughborough in 2018.
Wileman's earliest release date was early-2024, the court was told.
The judge said that Diamond had limited involvement in the offending and made drop- offs for the dealers, and was also acting under orders.
In the five years since the offending, Diamond had successfully weaned himself off drugs and completely changed his life, having started a family and was in regular full-time work.
Afterwards, the investigating officer, Sergeant Jo Ranson, of Leicestershire Police, said the defendants "callously preyed on others for their own benefit."
She said: "They saw the victim as an easy target and thought they would be able to exploit him to keep their dealings hidden from the public eye.
“They took over the victim’s house, which is known as ‘cuckooing’ and is where criminals use the property to facilitate exploitation.
“I hope the sentences given today will provide the victim with a degree of closure and allow him to move on with his life.”
Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - Sign up to our daily newsletter here.
