A blackmailer has been jailed for terrorising a north-east restaurant owner and his son.
Tahmin Chowdhury, 28, threatened to “kill and burn” the younger man and torch the popular Nazma Tandoori restaurants in a campaign of intimidation that lasted for four months.
He also threatened to burn down the restaurateur’s home and sent two men to the premises to collect £3,000 in cash.
Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard that Chowdhury’s relationship with a childhood friend had become “fractious” due to a dispute over money.
‘I will get you so hard you’ll be licking my trainers’
Fiscal depute Colin Neilson said Chowdhury’s relationship with Mohammed Ullah, a childhood friend, had broken down after he claimed to have loaned him £3,000, which Mr Ullah denied.
He said: “Between October 28 2019 and February 17 2020, the accused sent Mr Ullah approximately 160 texts.
“The majority of the messages were offensive and threatening in nature and included ‘I’m going to knife you’, ‘I will get you so hard you’ll be licking my trainers’, and ‘I will batter your dad’.”
The messages also contained numerous racial and sexual slurs.
Mr Neilson went on: “On Monday February 17 2020 at 6.07pm, the complainer received a phone call from the accused, during which he demanded money from the complainer, uttered offensive and racially abusive remarks and uttered threats to burn the complainer.
“The phone call made the complainer feel intimidated.”
Chowdhury then turned his attention to Mr Ullah’s father, Mohammed Sheik, bombarding him with threatening calls to his restaurant, the Nazma Tandoori, in Ellon.
The fiscal depute said: “Throughout the evenings of Friday and Saturday December 6 and 7 2019, Mr Sheik was working in his restaurant in Ellon.
“Over the course of the two evenings, he received approximately 40 phone calls from a male, now known to be the accused, who threatened to burn down the restaurants and the complainer’s car.
“The complainer felt threatened by these phone calls and he also felt they had a detrimental impact on his business in that the calls took up the phone line much of the time, thereby preventing customers making bookings and placing orders.”
When Mr Sheik was working in the Aberdeen Nazma Tandoori, on Bridge Street, Chowdhury again telephoned making sinister threats.
Mr Neilson said: “During the evening of Monday February 17 2020, Mr Sheik was working in his restaurant on Bridge Street.
“At approximately 6.15pm he received a telephone call from a male, now known to be the accused, during which the accused demanded £3,000, failing which he would burn down the complainer’s restaurants and home.
“I’ll knock you out with three hits.
“He also threatened to kill his son and burn him and stated that two people would come to collect the money.
“Mr Sheik’s son was also present and recorded the call, which he later gave to the police.
“At approximately 7.30pm, two unknown men entered the restaurant and demanded £3,000.
“The complainer contacted the police and, having been told by the son that they were not getting the money, the men left.
“The complainer felt very threatened by this incident.”
Chowdhury was arrested over the matter on February 18 and began to shout and swear officers.
He made comments including “take your uniform off and fight me”, and “I’ll knock you out with three hits”.
“I’m going to pollute your population.
On arrival at Kittybrewster station he continued to verbally berate officers.
He told one female officer she was “less than a dog” and made sexual comments, adding: “Look at your ugly face.”
Chowdhury went on to make homophobic and racial comments.
Chowdhury went on to tell officers he would have sex with their parents, even telling one he would have sex with his “dead mother”.
He added: “I’m going to pollute your population.”
Later when civilian staff came to check on him and offer him food in his cell, Chowdhury said: “ISIS will blow your white kids.”
On July 3 2020 Chowdhury made a series of abusive phone calls to Mr Ullah, during which he made threats towards him and his family, including to “rape” his father, as well as racial and homophobic comments.
Chowdhury was arrested again.
Chowdhury pled guilty to four charges of behaving in a threatening or abusive manner, and one of attempted extortion.
Defence agent Ian Woodward-Nutt said his client had previously agreed to lend his friend £3,000.
He said: “At that stage he was setting up a barbershop and needed a loan to buy barber’s chairs.
“The informal agreement was the sum should be paid back within a few weeks.
“Thereafter, despite subsequent and repeated requests for repayment, the complainer avoided, rebuffed and ignored him and refused to relay the loan and simply denied a loan had ever taken place.
“Mr Chowdhury became extremely upset about the situation.
“The situation got to the stage where Mr Chowdhury has to accept he completely lost control, such was his anger towards his former friend.
“Mr Chowdhury is utterly horrified to hear, in the cold light of day, the terms he used in committing the offences. He accepts nothing can excuse these types of comments.
“He tells me the threats made were hollow threats.
“He exhibits genuine remorse and indeed he is disgusted by his own behaviour.”
Mr Woodward-Nutt added the men that attended the restaurant demanding money had gone there because his client had thought the complainers had agreed to pay.
Sheriff Summers’ comments and sentence
Sheriff William Summers told Chowdhury, of Great Northern Road, Aberdeen: “You recognise you appear to be remorseful and understand how serious the offences are, but I cannot ignore the gravity of these offences.
“You carried out a campaign to extort money from a father and son who were known to you.
“The language you used towards the police was vile and shocking.
“These offences are too serious to be dealt with by a community sentence.”
He ordered Chowdhury to be jailed for 24 months.
Mr Sheik spoke of his relief
Following the court case, Mr Sheik told the Evening Express of his relief Chowdhury was now behind bars.
He said: “I’m quite happy with that.
“It was really scary.
“I was really scared to go out. I was scared to go into the city centre.
“I’m really glad he got a prison sentence.”
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