13 November, 2006 - Published 16:17 GMT

Sadistic robbers jailed for life

A Jamaican teenager is among a gang of armed robbers jailed for life for kidnapping people and subjecting them to "sadistic and gratuitous violence".

More than a dozen pedestrians and motorists in London were beaten and stripped of their valuables.

London's Wood Green Crown Court heard one man had his arm broken and another was tortured with a cigarette lighter.

Jamaican Robert Lincoln, 18, Pedro Frota, 19, and Sofian Majera, 22, all from east London, admitted 17 robberies.

The offences took place between 31 August and 14 December last year.

The court heard they cruised London at night armed with guns, knives and baseball bats looking for victims.

People they kidnapped were stripped of their valuables and warned they would be tortured or killed unless they handed over their pin numbers.

Homophobia and racism

Threats ranged from being shot and having their throats slit to their eyes being gouged and being burnt alive.

Francis Sheridan, prosecuting, said it was made clear homophobia and racial hatred occasionally played a part in the selection of victims.

Judge Witold Pawlak told Lincoln, Majera and Pedro Frota they must serve a minimum of seven years before they could be considered for parole.

Dealing with Lincoln, the judge said he had not only been involved in 10 of the attacks, but had only been out of prison for a few months before carrying out the first.

"Taking your previous convictions and the nature and seriousness of those offences, I have no hesitation you are very dangerous and pose a very significant danger to the public."

All four defendants, who have previous convictions, face deportation after their sentences have been served.