Probe leads to 52 charges against five people

Five people face 52 charges between them after a months-long, cross-country investigation into drug- and gang-related retaliatory kidnappings targeting two innocent women, Calgary police said.

The victims were detained and assaulted in separate, sophisticated planned actions in May 2023 due to their connection with individuals linked to organized crime, police said in a statement issued Monday.

The first incident occurred on May 2, 2023, when a woman in her 20s was forced into a vehicle by an unknown man after leaving her workplace in northeast Calgary shortly after 6 p.m.

While investigating this incident, police learned of a second kidnapping targeting a woman in her 50s, who was kidnapped at gunpoint from a home in southeast Calgary, Calgary Police Service said, in what was believed to be an act of retaliation.

The victims were taken to separate homes rented through Airbnb, where they were held captive until May 4.

“The women were assaulted multiple times before being released by suspects. Once located, one woman was taken to hospital,” Calgary police said. “During these incidents, which lasted more than 30 hours, dozens of police resources from across the service were engaged to track the suspects and locate the victims.”

The police investigation sparked by the abductions took nine months and extended beyond Calgary to Edmonton and Windsor, Ont. Police got more than 100 court orders to search five properties and many electronic devices located in those three cities.

Law enforcement from Vancouver and Lethbridge were also involved, Calgary police said.