Fugitive gangster who fled to Britain laughs as he is jailed for 30 years for killing a man with a blow torch and setting him on fire- Mariusz Florowski was wanted for a string of offences in Poland but managed to slip into Britain last year
- The mobster tortured Benedykt Nowak, 34, before roasting his face with a blow torch and dousing him in petrol
- The victim’s brother was forced to watch in terror as Florowski set Mr Nowak alight
- A fugitive Polish gangster who fled to Britain laughed as he was jailed for 30 years for killing a man with a blow torch.
Feared enforcer Mariusz Florowski, 38, was wanted for a string of gang offences in Poland when he managed to slip into Britain last year and launch a sadistic attack on a new father.
The mobster, who is a member of the Warsaw mafia, tortured Benedykt Nowak, 34, roasting his face with a blow torch before dousing him in petrol after the garage owner refused to hand over his business.
The victim’s brother Pzemyslan, 26, was forced to watch in terror as Florowski set Mr Nowak alight, sending flames roaring up to the ceiling of an industrial estate in Southall, west London.
Horrific images were captured on CCTV of the victim staggering from the garage as the flames burnt every scrap of clothing from his body.
The fireball also caused tanks and cylinders to explode as the blaze threatened to engulf neighbouring homes and businesses.
Residents were evacuated after the fire also spread to a church, although no one else was hurt.
Mr Nowak, who had only become a father a month earlier, was rushed to hospital but he died of his injuries two days later.
The Old Bailey heard how the criminal was wanted in Poland for a catalogue of gang related offences yet he was able to sneak into Britain undetected in the middle of 2012 because the authorities had failed to issue a European Arrest Warrant.
Although he had an appalling record of violence with convictions for armed robbery, firearms, extortion, burglary, possession of a firearm and organised criminal gang activity in his native country,
Polish police had failed to obtain an EU Arrest Warrant which meant that British police were unaware of his history.
Instead the feared gangster was left free to boast about the kidnappings he had carried out for the Warsaw mafia.
After waltzing into Britain he teamed up with mini cab firm boss Jakub Ostrowski, 37, who also had a string of convictions in Poland for attacking police officers.
Ostrowski was running a cab firm called Polish Airbus, ferrying Polish immigrants to and from airports after he came to Britain in 2004.
The pair wanted to use Mr Nowak’s garage to service Ostrowski’s vehicles and pestered the Nowak brothers for months before they decided to force them to hand over garage space.
On February 22 this year they turned up at their premises at Dilloway Industrial Estate in Southall and drank four bottles of vodka with the two brothers, who were also Polish.
Then they launched a brutal onslaught, kicking Pzemyslan all over his body.
He ran and hid under a car, but was dragged back in to witness what was about to happen.
When Benedykt begged them not to kill his brother, Florowski turned a blow torch on his face, causing horrific injuries to his head and neck.
Both brothers were then doused in petrol while Florowski walked between them, flicking the blow torch ignition.
He snarled at Pzemyslan, ‘I’m going to finish you as well’, before setting his brother alight and fleeing in a Mercedes.
Florowski grinned as he and Ostrowski were jailed for life and ordered to serve at least 30 years each for murder and attempted murder.
Judge Rebecca Poulet told the smirking gangster: ‘This attack involved sadistic conduct and almost unimaginable cruelty.
‘In my view your failure to get your way with the Nowak brothers is part of the reason for your wicked and cruel behaviour.
‘Your attack on Ben in my view extended to tortured.’ His devastated brother Pzemyslan told the court: ‘I feel guilty that my brother died and I survived.
‘I feel a great emptiness in my life. My best friend and my brother is gone.’ The Polish authorities are now seeking to put Florowski on trial in Poland for gang offences after he has served his sentence.
Detective Sergeant Stuart Reeves, of the Metropolitan Police, said: ‘Mariusz Florowski and Jakub Ostrowski subjected the two brothers to a prolonged violent attack before drenching them both in petrol.
‘The subsequent fire also caused a vast amount of damage putting the lives of residents and emergency service personnel at risk.’
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