Five people have been convicted for their involvement in the 'carefully orchestrated' and 'sinister' scheme
Mark Page Content Editor
12:50, 18 Dec 2025
A "deeply disturbing kidnap plot" targeting a house in Hull was foiled after suspicious activity at an AirBnB in a small village was reported. Five people have been convicted of their involvement in the "carefully orchestrated" scheme, including a man who flew from Amsterdam to take part.
The owner of the property in Barrow Road, Goxhill, North Lincolnshire, raised concerns after it was booked by a "woman for a family trip with her baby". However, on January 28 this year, a group of men arrived and were "suspected to be committing burglary".
Police were sent to the scene and three men attempted to flee on foot to avoid arrest. At this point, officers had no idea that, when they managed to arrest two of the men, they were actually disrupting an international kidnap plot involving several people.
David Glen-Meade, 33, of Home Close, Leicester, was this week found guilty by a jury of conspiracy to kidnap following a two-week trial. Four other people entered guilty pleas earlier in the court proceedings.
Anthony Andjole, 30, of no fixed address, admitted failing to comply with the regulation of investigatory powers act on day one of the trial, having already pleaded guilty to conspiracy to kidnap and possession of a firearm with intent at an earlier court hearing on May 6. On day two of the trial, Michael McDonald, 54, of Acacia Road, Doncaster, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to kidnap and possession of a firearm with intent and two women, Chloe Brooks, 34, of Broom Hill Drive, Doncaster, and Indiana Smith, 22, of Flint Road, Newark, both entered guilty pleas on the same day to participating in the activities of an organised crime group.
Meanwhile, 35-year-old Justin Render, of Sheridan Street, Leicester, was charged with handling stolen goods, conspiracy to kidnap, possession of a firearm and possession of a class B drug. However, he was found not guilty of all the offences and has now been released from custody.
On the day the plot began to unravel, when two of the men, Andjole and Render, were arrested on suspicion of burglary following a "short foot pursuit", two pieces of paper were found on Andjole containing the address of the Airbnb in Goxhill along with details of a house in Hull marked as 'target'. Detective Chief Inspector Ben Robinson of Humberside Police, who led the investigation, added: "Officers subsequently conducted a search at the address on Barrow Road that evening discovering balaclavas, hammers, nails, rope and cable ties, this was confirmed to be a kidnap kit which was planned to be used by the three men to restrain the individual at the target address.
“On the drive of the address was a stolen Nissan Navara which was planned to be used to transport the victim back to the address in Goxhill. A further search of the property in Goxhill the following day resulted in a firearm and ammunition being recovered.”
Police then trawled through CCTV footage from the village and pieced together the movements of the car as the conspirators finalised their plans. The original booker of the Airbnb was contacted by its owner who claimed to have no knowledge of who the men were or why they were there.
Officers then identified the third man who fled the scene as Glen-Meade. Liaising with colleages from West Midlands Police, he was arrested on January 31 and later charged with conspiracy to kidnap.
While in custody, Andjole's mobile phone was seized and forensic analysis revealed text messages outlining a detailed kidnap plot that he had specifically travelled over from the Netherlands to be involved in. Further CCTV investigations identified a Volkswagen Golf parked up in Goxhill as being linked to McDonald and Brooke, who were then identified as the man and woman on the CCTV, and it was traced to an address in Doncaster. Both were later arrested in the South Yorkshire city.
Investigators also identified Smith as being the one who booked the Airbnb which was to be used as a secure location to operate the kidnap plot from. She was arrested by officers as she tried to leave the country at Holyhead Port, in Wales, on March 26.
Following the conclusion of the trial, Andjole, Glen-Meade and McDonald have all been remanded with Brooks and Smith on conditional bail. They will appear back at Hull Crown Court for sentencing at a later date.
DCI Ben Robinson, added: “I want to begin by commending everyone involved in this investigation for their tenacity and dedicated work. At the start, we had such limited information, but the team carried out a detailed and lengthy investigation following every line of enquiry to ensure that the full picture of this incident was understood which meant that we built up a wealth of evidence which was crucial in ultimately securing the charges.
“This was a carefully orchestrated and deeply disturbing kidnap plot, involving Andjole who travelled from Amsterdam, and others from across the country, to carry it out. Thankfully, no one became a victim or was injured as a result, and this could have resulted in a very different outcome had they been able to implement their sinister plan.
“Thanks to the expertise of our specialist teams and the strength of the evidence gathered, I am pleased these offenders have now been brought to justice and will face the consequences of their actions when they are sentenced at Hull Crown Court at a later date. Violent crime of this nature will never be tolerated, and our Major Crime Team will continue working tirelessly to remove dangerous individuals from our streets."