Javed Mukhtar was kept captive for three weeks

The High Court in Glasgow heard the gang bundled shopkeeper Javed Mukhtar, 58, into the back of a van, before shooting at his son last September.

Mr Mukhtar was handcuffed and held captive for three weeks in Manchester.

The judge, Lord Hodge, will consider background reports on the six men before sentencing them next month.

Alex Prentice, prosecuting, told the court that Mr Mukhtar's captors warned his family that if the ransom was not paid he would be seriously injured, even murdered.

Detectives received a tip-off and the kidnappers were arrested after an undercover police officer left a suitcase containing �400,000 near an emergency telephone on the M6 near Charnock Richard in Lancashire.

On Friday, the six men admitted their parts in the plot to kidnap Mr Mukhtar, of Crossmyloof, and extort money from his family.

At each of the three locations he was in fear of his life Alex Prentice prosecuting

Darren Wright, 31, a disqualified lorry driver of Thorn Close, Heywood, Lancashire, and ex-Royal Marine Peter Haining, 28, of the same address, were used as the brute force to help abduct Mr Muhktar.

Craig Adams, 23, of Boardman Lane, also Bury, was the driver of the van which took Mr Mukhtar to captivity.

David Smith, 37, of Atholl Drive, Heywood, allowed his home to be used to keep Mr Mukhtar captive for several days before his release.

Leslie White, 65, of Craigavon, County Armagh, a former Northern Ireland paramilitary, did most of the negotiating for the ransom, and Ian Rosales, 19, of Thorn Close, helped uplift the ransom money.

The court heard that the intended victim of the kidnapping was Mr Mukhtar's son, Bilal, 25, known as Billy.

During the abduction on 29 September, Haining and Wright wore dark military-type clothing and balaclavas and were armed with Russian made Baikal .38 automatics, fitted with silencers.

Haining also appeared to be armed with a machine gun strapped to his chest with a harness.

Once inside the Mukhtar house, Wright pointed his gun at Bilal's face and demanded to know where Billy was.

Fearful that he was about to be shot, Bilal did not identify himself and instead they took his father outside and bundled him into the back of a white van.

Distressed state

The drama, captured on the family's CCTV security cameras and shown in court captured the moment Haining aimed and fired at Bilal who was following him.

Mr Mukhtar was then handcuffed and hooded for the journey to the Manchester area where he was to spend the next three weeks in captivity at three different addresses.

Mr Prentice said: "At each of the three locations he was in fear of his life, his abductors issuing such threats as 'remember we know where your house and shop is. If you tell anyone, remember we will come back and get you.'"

Mr Mukhtar, who was eventually released by the gang, was later found by police in a distressed state in Warrington.