A man who was allegedly kidnapped by a gang of balaclava-clad men and held hostage for two days just metres from where a beloved grandfather was allegedly tortured has been freed in a dramatic rescue operation.
The man, 53, was allegedly bundled into a Hyundai hatchback outside a tobacconist on Meadows Road in Mount Pritchard, west Sydney, about 6.15am on Tuesday.
Two days after the man was allegedly assaulted and kidnapped, strike force officers attended a property 30km away in Dural, about 10.30am on Thursday.
Officers deployed on the covert mission freed the man, who was assessed by paramedics and then taken to hospital in a stable condition.
NSW Police said a 16-year-old boy was arrested at the Dural property.
The teen was taken to Castle Hill police station, where inquiries are ongoing.
It comes as two men charged with the murder and bungled kidnap of 85-year-old Chris Baghsarian – also in Dural – have faced court.
Daniel Stevens, 24, and Gerard Andrews, 29, were arrested on Wednesday in early morning raids on their homes in Kenthurst and Castle Hill, in Sydney’s north-west, after police discovered Mr Baghsarian’s remains near a golf course the previous day.
The man, 53, was allegedly bundled into a Hyundai hatchback outside a tobacconist on Meadows Road in Mount Pritchard, in Sydney’s west, about 6.15am on Tuesday
Gerard Andrews (above) was also charged on Wednesday
Daniel Stevens (right) has been charged in connection to the kidnapping of Chris Baghsarian
The men appeared separately before Blacktown Local Court on Thursday morning, charged with taking/detaining Mr Baghsarian with intent to ransom, occasioning bodily harm and murdering him at Dural, NSW, between February 13 and 14.
It marked a sad end to an 11-day search for the grandfather, who was allegedly kidnapped from his North Ryde home on February 13 at 5am.
Andrews appeared first via video-link wearing the tatty Gucci t-shirt he wore when police humiliatingly arrested him with his jeans around his ankles.
He hung his head before speaking just one word in court when Magistrate Bree Chisholm asked him: ‘Can you see me on screen, Mr Andrews?’
‘Yes,’ Andrews replied.
His lawyer Paul McGirr didn’t apply for bail, and outside court, the former police officer told reporters his client was ‘no mastermind’in the alleged plot.
‘It’s a horrific set of facts that I’ve read in my experience as a police officer and defence lawyer, and I just have to remind myself that I have a job to do under these circumstances,’ he said.
‘It’s not lost on me the sensitive nature of this particular matter for the victim’s family but I have a job to do, and it’s very hard at this moment for me to do that job having read the fact sheet.
Two men have been charged with the murder and bungled kidnap of Chris Baghsarian
Andrews was taken in for questioning with his jeans around his ankles
Stevens was shirtless and barefoot as officers hauled him in for questioning
‘These matters are extremely sensitive and in that particular respect, certainly from what I can gather, my client was no mastermind in respect to his involvement in this particular matter. But we will wait for a brief and take it from there.’
Stevens then appeared before the court with his lawyer, Javid Faiz, telling the magistrate his client was suffering from shingles.
Mr Faiz said: ‘Mr Stevens requires some medication – he has shingles and since he has been in custody it’s affecting him and there’s a particular medication.’
Stevens added: ‘It’s just an antiviral, the shingles is not contagious anymore, it’s just that I haven’t showered,’ before asking for generic brand of the antiviral medication.
His lawyer then sought a health assessment for his client.
Mr Faiz sought a health assessment and requested medication for his client which was granted by the Magistrate.
Inquiries indicated that Mr Baghsarian was not the intended target of the alleged kidnapping and had been taken in a case of mistaken identity.
Police discovered Mr Baghsarian’s remains near a golf in Pitt Town on Tuesday (pictured)
‘We will allege in court that these men participated in a joint criminal enterprise to kidnap Mr Baghsarian and where he was held hostage, where he came to his death – and they will be charged with his murder,’ Detective Acting Superintendent Andrew Marks told a press conference on Wednesday.
‘I can tell you at the search warrants at Kenthurst and Castle Hill, detectives seized electronic devices, clothing and other items, that we will suggest link to the kidnapping and murder of Mr Baghsarian.
‘We’re still investigating in relation to what their knowledge was and what their involvement was in relation to the alleged kidnapping and in relation to any other persons involved.’
Both men were denied bail on Thursday.
Their matters have been adjourned to April 17 at Penrith Local Court.
