KIDNAP PLOT FEARS

Top cop wary new breed of criminality behind abduction

POLICE thwarted a child abduction plot at the weekend, but say investigations into who was behind it — and why — is leading to a scary “bigger picture”.

The Gold Coast’s top cop, Assistant Commissioner Brian Codd, last night told the Bulletin: “We’re looking at what it might mean in terms of a broader degree of criminality creeping into our area”.

A 53-year-old man is expected to be extradited to Queensland from Grafton, NSW, today after a 12-year-old boy was snatched from outside his Gold Coast home on Friday afternoon.

THE shock kidnapping of a Gold Coast child, a multimillion-dollar ransom and a major police manhunt.

The scene played out on the Gold Coast at the weekend as a 12-year-old Mudgeeraba boy was taken on Friday afternoon.

But a similar situation happened on the Gold Coast 29 years ago, almost to the day.

In May 1989, then-10-year- old Marissa Wong was kidnapped from her Benowa home, with a demand for a $2 million ransom in exchange for her return.

Marissa Wong was taken by three men understood to be of a Cantonese background, who broke into the Wong family’s Cabana Blvd home.

The gang beat up the home’s owners, Cheukyun and Marianna Wong, before tying them up with masking tape. Mr Wong was a Chinese-born businessman.

A member of the gang was armed with a gun while the others had knives. The men took money and warned the Wongs they should not call the police for at least an hour or they would hurt the girl.

During an intensive search, police visited hotels and motels across the city to find the girl.

The kidnappers’ demands for a ransom later dropped to $500,000, then to $200,000.

The girl was found near a