Men charged after kidnapping pair they mistakenly thought had 'large sums' of cryptocurrency in NSW
Police have charged two Sydney men after they allegedly kidnapped and tortured two people who they incorrectly believed held large sums of cryptocurrency.
A 26-year-old man and 24-year-old woman were allegedly kidnapped from a car park in January and tortured for 36 hours, where a man's finger was allegedly amputated.
It is one of five gang-related confirmed or suspected kidnappings this year alone.
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Two men were arrested after a police operation on April 4. NSW Police
Police allege on January 18 two men wearing balaclavas grabbed the man and woman as they walked towards a car park on Court Road in Fairfield, forced them into a vehicle and took them to a property at Swan Bay, near Newcastle.
Two days later, the allegedly kidnapped pair managed to escape and call a family member, who contacted police.
"In that period of being kept captive there, they were tied to chairs, where demands were made for ransom, large sums of money for cryptocurrency," Detective Superintendent Joe Doueihi alleged.
"Attempts were made to amputate his middle finger using garden shears, resulting in a significant injury to this male's finger, resulting in surgery and the insertion of a metal plate to reattach the finger."
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Detective Superintendent Joe Doueihi says police have made a series of arrests after multiple kidnappings in Sydney. Nine
Detectives under Strike Force Bultje executed two search warrants at two homes in Smithfield and Cartwright on April 4.
A 24-year-old man and a 25-year-old man were each charged with a range of serious offences including taking or detaining in company with the intent to ransom, occasioning actual bodily harm, participating in a criminal group and using stolen motor vehicles.
The older man was also charged with one count of damaging property by fire over a separate incident, where a Molotov cocktail was allegedly thrown towards a home.
Both men were refused bail when they appeared at Fairfield Local Court earlier this month.
They will reappear before Parramatta Local Court on May 1.
Doueihi said police had taken substantial action against 10 alleged offenders in three kidnapping investigations.
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Both men were refused bail when they appeared at Fairfield Local Court earlier this month. NSW Police
"I can say that these organised crime groups have multiple levels of coordination and we are targeting every level of those syndicates," Doueihi said.
"We have arrested the muscle.
"We have, on one occasion, arrested the main organiser of the kidnappings."
Doueihi said the kidnapped people were "targeted victims" who had gang associations.
"It is quite a high level of violence and brutality which have been used in these kidnappings."
On March 9, in an unrelated incident, Peter Vuong was allegedly abducted from his Smithfield home in front of his partner before having teeth forcibly removed.
The 26-year-old was rescued by police from a home in Belmore after five days of alleged torture.
Six men have since been charged.
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