TWO teenagers robbed a drug dealer at knifepoint, dragging him out of his car before punching and kicking him and torching his BMW, a jury heard.

Joshua Farmer, aged 18, of Howard Close, Newport, and a 17-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, are on trial at Cardiff Crown Court.

They both deny robbing Abu Bakar Kahim in Caerleon and arson by setting ablaze his BMW 118 SE in Llangybi, near Usk in October 2017.

Prosecutor Nik Strobl said the complainant was a cannabis dealer who was telephoned by someone wanting to buy three £10 bags of the drug.

It was arranged for him to meet the caller after midnight at a car wash near the Hanbury Arms in Caerleon.

The prosecution claims the alleged victim was robbed by the two defendants and another unknown male and that one of them mentioned they had a gun.

Mr Strobl said: “All three men made their way to the car wash where Mr Kahim was waiting in the front seat of his car with the key still in the ignition.

“Two of the men walked up and one of them talked to him through an open window.

“Mr Kahim was then punched to the face and started winding up the window. One of the males reached in and took the key out of the ignition.

“The windows were punched and one of them pulled out a knife. The door was opened and Mr Kahim was dragged out of the car.

“He was told to empty his pockets at knifepoint, the blade being held towards his chest. A mobile phone, cash, cannabis and his driving licence were taken.

“The complainant asked them to keep the money but to return his car keys.

“Mr Kahim was then punched and kicked before he was pushed over a wall. One of the males told him he had a gun.”

The court was told the complainant fled from the scene and that his BMW was driven away and allegedly set alight by the two defendants before it became engulfed in flames after they lost control of the vehicle and it crashed at Llangybi.

Mr Strobl told the jury: “At 3.19am, PC Andrew North approached Joshua Farmer who told him they had been abducted by two Asian males and that they had crashed and that’s how they had escaped.

“The prosecution says the vehicle was intentionally set on fire to destroy evidence linking them to the earlier crime.”

Farmer is being defended by Nigel Fryer and the youth by Harry Baker.

Proceeding.