A worrying level of criminality
Abduction, ransom plot have police on high alert
A TOP cop fears a terrifying Gold Coast schoolboy abduction and alleged ransom plot are signs of a new breed of criminality “creeping into our area”.
Police on Saturday thwarted an alleged elaborate extortion attempt related to a multimillion-dollar debt involving Chinese nationals but say the real investigation has only just begun.
The nature of the abduction – which one officer called “planned and focused” – plus difficulty extracting information from some close to the incident has sparked suspicion of a scary “bigger picture”.
Police Assistant Commissioner Brian Codd, of State Crime Command, told the Bulletin last night: “The type of people who for whatever reason – whether it’s some sort of debt collection – undertake a planned abduction of children is a pretty nasty type of person.
“That gives rise to whether there are other activities they might be involved in. We’re looking at what it might mean in terms of a broader degree of criminality creeping into our area,” he said.
An Amber Alert – signalling a child abduction emergency – was raised on Friday night after a 12year-old boy was dragged screaming into a vehicle outside his Mudgeeraba home that afternoon.
It sparked a police media blitz and frantic interstate hunt for the Somerset College student, described as a popular high-achiever in and out of the classroom.
Police swooped on a black SUV in Grafton, NSW, on Saturday afternoon after a member of the public phoned in a sighting of the vehicle.
The youngster is believed to have been found bound by his neck to a car headrest and police arrested his alleged captor in the driver’s seat.
Police today plan to extradite a 53-year-old man to Queensland from Grafton, NSW, and it is expected a charge of kidnapping for ransom will be laid with other alleged offences.
The man is not expected to appear in Southport Magistrates Court until tomorrow.
Witnesses have told police they saw two men in the car that abducted the boy and police are still hunting for a second man.
Neighbours have reported seeing strange men knock on the door of the family’s Mudgeeraba townhouse at all hours of the days in recent weeks, with the father rarely seen.
“The family is estranged,” one neighbour said. “(The boy’s) sister told me they don’t get to see their dad much anymore.”
Despite the arrest, police say the investigation is in its early stages as “other links” to the arrested man – believed to be a Chinese national living in Sydney – are probed.
A senior police officer yesterday said there were indications the motive for the alleged kidnapping related to a substantial gambling debt racked up by the boy’s father – “but that doesn’t mean the father agrees with that”.
Police were talking with the father – who was in China – via phone with no indication he would be returning to the Gold Coast any time soon.
Detective Inspector Marc Hogan said on Saturday it was a case where “parties were known to each other and there were financial issues involved in lead-up to the abduction.
“It’s more along the lines of personal loans with each other.
“In the lead-up to the abduction we will allege requests were made for money – and that led pretty quickly to us identifying who we should be looking for,” he said.
Asst Commissioner Codd said police were keeping an open mind on who else could be involved.
“If we are dealing with people prepared to go to those lengths of a planned abduction of children then who knows what length they would go to in other forms of criminality.”
Additional reporting Chris Clarke and Jeremy Pierce
WE’RE LOOKING AT WHAT IT MIGHT MEAN IN TERMS OF A BROADER DEGREE OF CRIMINALITY CREEPING INTO OUR AREA. ASST COMMISSIONER BRIAN CODD