A man has been sentenced to prison for his involvement in aiding a drug dealer linked to the abduction, torture, and murder of a well-known radio DJ from London.
On October 13, 2022, Mehmet Koray Alpergin, 43, and his partner, Gozde Dalbudak, were kidnapped in central London. Mr. Alpergin endured severe torture before his body was discovered in an Essex woodland area.
Zubair Iqbal, 33, from Ilford in east London, was acquitted of conspiracy to kidnap but found guilty of aiding an offender during a separate trial that took place earlier this year. He received a 10-month prison sentence on Friday.
Iqbal was linked to Tejean Kennedy, who had previously been convicted of kidnapping and unlawfully imprisoning the couple, as well as the manslaughter of Mr. Alpergin.
During the proceedings at the Old Bailey, jurors learned that the couple was on their way home to Enfield after dining at a restaurant in Mayfair when they were forcibly taken and brought to a wine bar near White Hart Lane, where Mr. Alpergin was assaulted. His remains were later discarded in a wooded area.
Ms. Dalbudak, 36, was confined in a restroom for two days before being released and given money for transportation.
The court had previously disclosed that Mr. Alpergin sustained 94 distinct injuries.
On the night of Mr. Alpergin’s death, Iqbal is said to have assisted Kennedy for about seven hours, providing a secure location to stash clothing and a mobile phone, and facilitating money laundering for him.
Judge Sarah Whitehouse KC remarked that, although Iqbal may not have fully grasped the severity and horrors of what was planned for Mr. Alpergin and Ms. Dalbudak, he must have realized there was a serious criminal operation underway at that moment.
She stated: “This was a highly organized scheme to kidnap and torture Mr. Alpergin. You are not an inexperienced individual; you possess intelligence.”
“You must have understood the situation, knowing that Kennedy routinely exploited others to advance his own criminal endeavors.”
Iqbal and his brother previously owned a chicken shop that Kennedy utilized for packaging his drug supplies. Furthermore, Iqbal’s bank account was employed to launder illicit finances.
The court was informed that Kennedy, who has connections to the Tottenham Turks’ organized crime group, also used Iqbal’s bank account to manage illicit financial transactions, likely intended for payments to criminal outsiders.
On the night of the couple’s abduction, Judge Whitehouse noted a “high level of telephone communication” between Iqbal and Kennedy.
In the lead-up to the kidnapping, Kennedy utilized Iqbal’s residence to change his clothes and left his personal phone charging and connected online to fabricate the impression that he had spent the night at Iqbal’s place.
The judge emphasized that Mr. Alpergin’s family has “suffered immensely knowing the nature of Mr. Alpergin’s final hours.”
Originally from Northern Cyprus, Mr. Alpergin was a prominent figure within the British Turkish community and was the owner of Bizim FM, a Turkish-language radio station based in London.
Last year, three men—Dylan Weatherley, Kyrie Mitchell-Peart, and Isay Stoyanov—were sentenced for their involvement in the kidnap and murder of Mr. Alpergin.
Weatherley, 20, from Tottenham, received a five-year sentence for his role in the manslaughter of Mr. Alpergin as well as his kidnapping and unlawful imprisonment.
Mitchell-Peart, 33, from Barnet, initially pleaded guilty to the kidnapping and false imprisonment of Mr. Alpergin and his partner and was sentenced to six years and four months.
Stoyanov, a 44-year-old Bulgarian painter and decorator from Seven Sisters in north London, was found guilty of obstructing justice and was sentenced to 18 months in prison.
In a separate trial in 2023, four additional men were convicted for their involvement in the crime.
