Court told of bomb threat ransom bid
An elderly businessman was so heavily in debt that he placed a fake bomb at a bank and demanded a ransom, a court heard.
The Santander Bank and surrounding area in Seven- oaks was evacuated after Reginald Esqulant handed over a letter in which he threatened to explode the device if the cash was not paid.
The 73-year-old father of three claims he only wanted to speak to the manager about threatening letters and telephone calls he had been receiving about a missing mortgage payment for his family home in Lenham.
He had no intention of getting any money from the bank, said his lawyer William Ryan.
Giving evidence, Esqulant told the court: “I went into Sevenoaks and it turned into this crazy, silly affair. I had this silly notion. I just wanted to get the manager and say ‘How do you like getting threatening letters?’”
But prosecutor Jennifer Oborne said Esqulant was desperate for money because he was in serious debt and faced a demand from HM Revenue and Customs for over £106,162.
Esqulant, now of Fawkham Road, West Kingsdown, admits making the hoax but denies blackmail, taking a car without author- ity and driving while disqualified.
Wearing latex gloves, Esqulant went to the High Street bank on February 8 this year and passed the letter in an envelope to cashier Patricia Booth asking for it to be given to the manager, the jury heard. He left the bank after he tried to light a cigarette and was told he could not smoke in the building. Miss Oborne said Esqulant had written the letter in the bank. The money was to be left in an empty butchers shop in an alleyway called The Shambles. Staff were initially not sure what to make of it but then saw that a brown box had been left in the reception area. “A threat like that cannot be ignored,” Miss Oborne told the jury. “The police were called and the bank and surrounding area were evacuated. A cordon was put around the area. “The Army was brought in and the package was examined. It was found to be a hoax and destroyed.” The trial continues.