A lawyer has been charged over an alleged violent kidnapping and ransom plot in western Sydney late last year.
A 31-year-old man was making a phone call inside his car in Granville on November 23 when he was allegedly attacked by three unknown men armed with bats, bound with cable ties and driven to a second location, believed to be a home in St Marys, and tortured.
Robbery and Serious Crime Squad Commander Detective Acting Superintendent Andrew Marks said the alleged assault was recorded on a mobile phone and used to demand ransom from the man’s brother.
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“The offences were very organised and they were very violent crimes,” he told reporters today.
The man’s brother paid the sum in cash, but the group allegedly demanded more money.
During an alleged exchange in Panania the following day, a fight broke out and the 31-year-old was able to escape.
The man was rushed to hospital and treated for injuries that included a black eye, cuts to his head and a deep wound on his left hand.
Three men have previously been charged and remain before the courts.
Last night, detectives arrested a 26-year-old lawyer in Austral and searched his home on Ulm Street in Ermington.
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He was taken to Liverpool Police Station, where he was charged with seven offences, including two counts of knowingly directing the activities of a criminal group, taking/detaining a person in company with the intent to ransom and wounding a person with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
Marks alleged that the lawyer was linked to a long-running drug supply operation and had told a gang to organise and commit the kidnapping and ransom through encrypted apps.
“In relation to this investigation, it was conducted in close collaboration with other supporting law enforcement agencies, linking the male that was arrested yesterday to a sophisticated drug supply operation dating back to 2022,” he said.
“Police allege that the encrypted communications showed the male planned to kidnap or kill a drug runner that he suspected had stolen drugs.”
Marks was unable to say whether the man had known the three other men charged over the incident through his work.
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The lawyer has been refused bail and faced the Liverpool Local Court today.
Detectives are continuing to investigate members of the involved gang.
“Those that are responsible or were involved, we will ensure that we’ll do everything we can to get them before the courts,” Marks said.
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