Sheffield blackmail victim left with fractured skull after being driven to woodland and beaten
A Sheffield man was left fearing for his life after he was driven to woodland and beaten by two men over a drug debt.
He was beaten so badly he suffered a fractured skull which required surgery.
Blackmailers Iran Johnson and Majid Janjua threatened their victim with violence in a bid to force him to settle his debt.
They played equal roles in the blackmailing, with Johnson playing a more significant role in the violence meted out with the use of a ‘blunt implement’.
Their victim was left fearing for his life after Johnson told him he would be killed if he did not repay the money he owed, Sheffield Crown Court heard on April 16, 2025.
“This must have been an extremely frightening and unpleasant experience for the complainant,” Judge Michael Slater said as he jailed the two defendants for a combined total of 69 months.
Prosecutor Austin Newman told the court that in the weeks preceding the blackmailing incident, the complainant built up a Class A drug debt of around £680 with Johnson, aged 46.
After the complainant said he would not be able to pay because he “did not have any money,” Johnson told him he must hand over the cash by December 13, 2023.
On that date, Johnson, of Lupton Road, Lowedges, Sheffield, called the complainant, telling him to come outside his home address in Gleadless Valley, where he met him in a vehicle with a second unknown male, later identified as Janjua.
Mr Newman said the ‘atmosphere became hostile’ a short time later, after Janjua returned from visiting a nearby shop.
“Janjua shouted: ‘I want my money, you’re taking the p***. Majid Janjua struck him in the face.
“Both men started questioning him, asking why he had not repaid the debt, and asking him what he had been spending his money on.”
It was at this point that the complainant was driven to a ‘remote spot in woodlands of which he was unfamiliar,’ said Mr Newman.
He continued: “He was asked to remove his training shoes, before being dragged from the car by Iraq Johnson. He subjected the complainant to a sustained physical beating, kicking and punching him.”
“The complainant was struck with some sort of blunt implement, deployed as a weapon.”
Mr Newman said the complainant did not see what the implement was, but believes it was ‘either a whisky bottle or a brick picked up at the scene’.
“He was shouted at by Johnson who said he would kill him unless he repaid the money within a further five days,” he said.
The court heard how, after carrying out the beating, the defendants drove complainant ‘part of the way home,’ and kicked him out of the car, leaving him to ‘walk the rest of the way in his stocking feet’.
The complainant was rushed to Sheffield’s Northern General hospital, where he was found to have suffered a skull fracture, for which he underwent surgery to have plates fitted.
In a statement submitted to the court, the complainant said his mental health has significantly deteriorated following the incident, exacerbating pre-existing issues with depression.
In addition, the injury to his skull continues to cause him pain, due to the plates which are still in situ.
The complainant went to the police and was able to identify Johnson, who was subsequently charged with offences including blackmail.
Mr Newman said initial efforts to identify Janjua, aged 49, of Crescent Road, Nether Edge, Sheffield - using CCTV taken from the shop he visited during the blackmail incident - were unsuccessful.
Remarkably, officers later managed to arrest Janjua when he was spotted in the public gallery on the first day of Johnson’s trial at Sheffield Crown Court.
Both Johnson and Janjua subsequently pleaded guilty to an offence of blackmail, with Johnson also admitting an offence of grievous bodily harm with intent, and Janjua an offence of battery, in connection with the incident.
Mr Newman told the court that Johnson has an ‘extensive’ criminal history of 16 convictions from 29 offences, while Janjua has a clean record.
Defending Johnson, Beth Crocker said her client was going through a ‘bad time’ when he committed the offences.
She suggested Johnson has his own vulnerabilities including previous issues around drug use, which is how he came to meet the complainant.
Johnson, a dad-of-six, has been in prison on remand since January 2024, and during that time has made extensive efforts to ‘get his act together’.
They include, said Ms Crocker, becoming an ‘enhanced prisoner,’ obtaining employment in the general servery, which is open to prison staff and visitors, and undergoing a number of courses in areas such as health and safety, catering and hospitality.
Richard Davies, representing Janjua, referred Judge Slater to six references submitted on his behalf from ‘significant figures’ within the community.
The references, suggested Mr Davies, is someone who helps his community, and seeks to improve the lives of others. He said the criminal conduct Janjua was to be sentenced for is completely ‘out of character’ and he is still struggling to ‘come to terms’ with how he came to be involved with such an incident.
In addition, Janjua’s elderly parents are both unwell, with his dad suffering from a heart condition, and his mother from Parkinson's.
Mr Davies suggested Judge Slater may have been able to pass a suspended sentence in Janjua’s case, given his lack of previous convictions and personal mitigation.
But Judge Slater rejected this suggestion and jailed both defendants, handing Johnson a 37-month sentence, and Janjua a 32-month sentence.
He also granted restraining orders without limit of time, prohibiting both defendants from contacting the complainant.