Three jailed in UK over Chohan family murders

LONDON - A drug dealer and two of his henchmen have been jailed for life for the "uniquely terrible" murder of an Indian-born millionaire businessman Amarjit Chohan and three generations of his family.

The victims included the mother of New Zealand man Onkar Verma, and also his sister - Amarjit Chohan's wife.

Kenneth Regan and his accomplice William Horncy were found guilty of five murders last week, and were told yesterday they would never be released from jail.

A third man, Peter Rees, was found guilty of one murder and convicted of assisting an offender. He received a life sentence and was ordered to serve at least 23 years before being considered for release.

The sentences came after one of the longest murder trials in English legal history.

"Each of you knows there is no prospect of release," Judge Stephen Mitchell told Regan and Horncy.

"Your crimes are uniquely terrible and include the cold blooded murder of an eight-week-old baby and an 18-month-old toddler, not to mention the murders of their mother, father and grandmother.

"Your characters are as despicable as your crimes." Chohan, who ran a haulage company importing food into Britain from Africa, vanished in February 2003 with his wife, two young sons and mother-in-law.

His body was found in the sea two months later floating near a pier at Bournemouth on the south coast of England. His wife's body and her mother were found later, but the bodies of the two baby boys are still missing.

Mr Verma said he initially had to fly from New Zealand to demand the disappearances be treated as suspicious.

Regan, a convicted drug dealer and police informant, had killed Chohan to take over his company as a front for importing drugs. The businessman had been forced to sign his company over to Regan shortly before he was murdered.

Regan then told police Chohan had given up his business and gone abroad voluntarily.

Detectives put the cost of the eight-month case at 10 ($26.21) million pounds. It involved over 1000 officers and stretched from Britain to Belgium, the United States and India.

- REUTERS