Dad kidnaps three sons at knifepoint from foster home
AN INTERNATIONAL hunt was underway yesterday after three young boys were abducted from their foster home by their father who was armed with a knife.
Imran Safi, 26, snatched the boys aged between three and six as they were playing in the garden before bundling them into a car.
Safi had threatened their foster mother with a knife before “using force” to take the children and going on the run.
Last night detectives said they feared for the welfare of Bilal Safi, six, Mohammed Ebrar Safi, five, and Mohammed Yaseen Safi, three.
Police released photographs of the three smiling brothers as they launched an urgent appeal for information to track them down.
Officers believe they may have been smuggled abroad as a massive investigation has failed to find any trace of them.
Planned
An all-ports alert was issued after the brothers were taken from the house in Coulsdon, south London eight days ago.
Photographs of the youngsters were circulated along with an image of Safi who is an Afghani national but also has links to Pakistan.
They also released images of a red Nissan Qashqai, registration PK13 WFO, which he used to abduct the youngsters.
Police believe Safi may have carefully planned the abduction and was working with accomplices.
Six men and two women, who are all believed to be known to Safi, were detained following a series of swoops on addresses in the area in the following days. They were detained on suspicion of being involved in the abduction but have all since been released on bail.
It is understood that the boys were shortly due to be adopted, and detectives believe this could be a motivation for the abduction.
Metropolitan Police Commander Jon Savell said: “He turned up, took the foster mother by surprise.
“We understand he was in possession of a knife, threatened the foster mother and took the kids away using force. The foster mum was understandably shaken.”
He added: “These children were happy, settled and should have been returning to school imminently. They should be seeing friends and being looked after in a safe place and we want to get them back as soon as possible.”
Police said they did nor believe the boys were at “immediate risk” but added that their priority is the welfare three children”.
Concerns have been heightened because they have not been seen since the abduction.
Mr Savell said there was a “strong
“absolute of these possibility” the suspect has taken his sons out of the country although it is not thought Safi had access to their passports.
He added: “It would be quite difficult to keep three young boys completely hidden for a week. So that has to be one of the main hypotheses because we have not been able to get any details at all.
“This type of investigation is incredibly complex and fastmoving, and for good reason we often don’t speak openly about such cases.
“That is why, until this stage, we have not sought the public’s help. But we are now urging anyone who may have any information which could assist us to come forward.”