A FORMER kebab packer has been cleared of threatening his former bosses with a gun in a £50,000 blackmail attempt.
Gentjan Prenci, 34, a former employee of Kismet Kebabs in Latchingdon, was found not guilty of blackmail at Chelmsford Crown Court last Tuesday after an eight-day trial.
Mr Prenci was initially accused of two counts of blackmail and one count of conspiracy to blackmail with fellow defendant Vladens Basovs, a 26-year-old doorman from Rainsford Road, in Chelmsford.
But on Monday the charges against Mr Basovs were dropped as were two of the charges Mr Prenci faced.
Mr Prenci, of Homemead, Galleywood, worked at Kismet for one year from 2010, and was sacked from the factory after threatening another employee with a knife, the court heard.
But despite the claims from Kismet's owner and sales manager, Peter Michael, Mr Prenci told the court there was no knife and he was merely standing up for himself against his former manager.
After his sacking Mr Prenci subsequently took Kismet Kebabs to a tribunal and was awarded £400 for not having a proper contract for his packing job that he claimed he was promised £70-a-day for, but was sometimes paid as little as £70 a week.
But the Crown alleged Mr Prenci wanted more money and began making threats to the owners of the business, Peter Michael and Jamal Enver, first obtaining £2,000 and then £3,000 in cash from them in pub car parks.
Mr Michael said that he believed Mr Prenci "was some kind of Albanian gangster" but the court had heard he had only two previous police matters – in both the UK and Albania.
Mr Prenci, who holds a British passport after being here 12 years, claimed he was just trying to recover £12,000 he was promised by Mr Michael before he was sacked.
The jury was shown CCTV of a pub car park rendezvous where Mr Prenci allegedly threatened Mr Michael while apparently holding a gun on October 17.
"He walked across the road and he said he'd do bad things to me," Mr Michael told the court.
"He said 'I want 50 grand'. I was traumatised, I was trembling.
"It's difficult. He sounded ruthless, calm and calculated."
But defence barrister Neil Baki said that these claims were merely exaggerated by Mr Michael, and Mr Prenci was just "enthusiastically trying to get his debt paid".
Much of the case was spent discussing what Mr Prenci was carrying in a black holdall he took to the meetings with Peter Michael and Jamal Enver.
Mr Michael claimed he saw the barrel of a gun, but Mr Prenci said there was no gun and he only brought the bag to carry the money.
The court was shown a number of texts sent from Mr Prenci to Mr Michael, including one which read: "Bruv you think you are going to win with me. Watch your step. Big boys in action."
Peter Michael took them as threats, the court heard, but Mr Prenci said they only referred to bailiffs and legal action that might go ahead if he was repaid.
The court imposed a restraining order on Mr Prenci and the factory which is now called Elbistan Kebabs.
