A drug dealer described as a “sadistic bully” has been jailed for 19 years after being extradited in 2025, from Thailand to the UK, where he was convicted of torturing and imprisoning vulnerable women. Vincent Agar, 80, carried out prolonged attacks on one woman and threatened another in Middlesbrough between 1998 and 2000, Durham Crown Court heard. His conviction has brought long-awaited relief to the victims, one of whom said she had her “best night’s sleep in years” after the verdict.
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The court was told Agar, then a crack cocaine dealer in his 50s, targeted a vulnerable woman in her 20s after she stole from him. He tied her up while she was unconscious and subjected her to hours of abuse using knives, boiling water, cigarettes and tools at a house on Clarendon Road. Prosecutors described his actions as “sadistic” and equivalent to torture, including threats to dispose of her body.
The woman escaped after about eight hours by climbing out of a window while Agar went to obtain drugs, but was later recaptured and held for a further three days at his Parliament Road home. During that time, she suffered burns, injuries and humiliation, including having clumps of her hair cut off. A second woman was also imprisoned for about an hour after witnessing another young woman tied to a radiator and was threatened with being shot if she spoke out.
Both victims described lasting psychological harm, with one saying the abuse marked the “start of [her] downward spiral” into addiction. The second woman said she had lived with guilt for decades for not helping the victim she saw, adding that the experience left her unable to trust others and fearful of being locked indoors. The court also heard Agar had a criminal record of 40 offences, including a previous conviction for wounding a partner he held captive.
In mitigation, the defence said Agar’s actions were driven by heavy crack cocaine use at the time, though he had since addressed his addiction and started a family in Thailand, where he had been living prior to extradition. Judge Richard Bennett rejected any leniency, calling Agar a “violent and sadistic bully” who used his position to control vulnerable women and inflicted “psychological terror”.
The judge said Agar’s crimes were “sickening and cruel” and noted he had evaded justice for more than 20 years. He added that the 80-year-old would likely die in prison or be released at an age where he would no longer pose a threat.
The BBC reported that Agar will now serve his sentence in the UK following his extradition from Koh Samui in Surat Thani province. The case highlights the long reach of justice in historic abuse cases and the enduring impact on victims decades later.
Picture courtesy of BBC
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Adapted by ASEAN Now BBC 1 May 2026
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