Former Oz test star MacGill allegedly kidnapped, beaten
Australian test cricket great Stuart MacGill didn’t inform police for a week after being allegedly kidnapped at gunpoint for ransom because he felt “threatened and scared”.
New South Wales Police said MacGill was forced into a vehicle at Cremorne, on Sydney’s Lower North Shore on April 14 and taken to a property where he was allegedly assaulted and threatened with a firearm. He was then driven to Belmore in Sydney’s south-west and released after an hour.
MacGill did not report the incident until April 20 because he felt “threatened and scared”. Police say the motive was financial, but no money was exchanged.
In a press conference yesterday, Detective Acting Superintendent Anthony Holton was asked if MacGill knew the man who allegedly confronted him on the street.
“I would be saying it was a personal relationship,” he replied.
He was then asked: “He has essentially been betrayed by someone that he knew?”
“Yes,” Holton replied.
Four men, aged 27, 29, 42 and 46 years old, appeared in court charged over the alleged kidnapping plot.
It is alleged one of the men charged — Marino Sotiropoulos, 46, — is the brother of MacGill’s recent partner Maria O’Meagher.
The other three charged are brothers Frederick, 27, and Richard Schaaf, 29, and Son Minh Nguyen, 42.
Robbery and Serious Crime Squad detectives arrested the men around 6am yesterday, three weeks after the alleged kidnapping near MacGill’s Sydney home.
Police said it had occurred around 8pm on April 14, when MacGill was allegedly confronted by the 46-yearold accused near the intersection of Parraween and Winne streets in Cremorne.
A short time later the pair were approached by two other men, allegedly forcing MacGill into a vehicle.
He was then allegedly driven to a property at Bringelly, where the two men, plus another unknown man, allegedly assaulted him and threatened him with a firearm. About an hour later, police claim MacGill was driven to Belmore and released.
After MacGill notified police, Robbery and Serious Crime Squad detectives formed Strike Force Cain. They then conducted investigations, with assistance from other police squads.
MacGill represented Australia in 44 test matches between 1998 and 2008, serving as Shane Warne’s understudy for most of his test career. He claimed 208 test wickets at an average of 29.03, including 12 fivewicket hauls. Only three leg-spin bowlers have taken more test wickets for Australia — Richie Benaud, Clarrie Grimmett and Warne.
MacGill, who took 328 Sheffield Shield wickets for New South Wales, announced his retirement from international cricket in 2008.