Police are racing to secure the release of an innocent elderly man after kidnappers circulated a video showing him bloodied and tied up in an escalating underworld extortion plot.
Chris Baghsarian, 85, was alone in his North Ryde home when he was taken and bundled into a dark‑coloured SUV on Friday morning.
Police suspect the kidnappers intended to abduct a relative of an underworld figure but mistakenly took Mr Baghsarian instead.
Police hold grave concerns for the grandfather, who needs daily medication, Detective Acting Superintendent Andrew Marks said.
‘They took Mr Baghsarian whilst he was at home, in his bedroom of his family home, and they took him and bundled him into a car and took him away to a location that we do not know,’ Det Supt Marks told reporters on Saturday.
‘Police consider that Mr Baghsarian was not the intended target … You have the wrong person.’
Video shown to the media depicts Mr Baghsarian tied at the hands, gagged, and lying on a carpeted floor covered in blood.
The chilling footage was sent to a Sydney underworld figure believed to be overseas after kidnappers wrongly assumed Mr Baghsarian was connected to the person they meant to target.
An 85-year-old man has been kidnapped from his home in what police fear is a mistaken identity case
CCTV shows two men arriving in a dark Toyota SUV before approaching the home
The men are then seen heading towards the property moments before the abduction
‘If there’s a member of the kidnapping crew that has any common decency, to tell us where he is, you tell us where he is, we’ll do the rest,’ Det Supt Marks said.
Three people are believed to be involved in the kidnapping, with Det Supt confirming a burnt-out vehicle matching the description of the SUV involved found nearby.
The kidnapping has unsettled underworld figures, who say a line has been crossed, The Daily Telegraph reports.
Police Minister Yasmin Catley said the perpetrators would be caught and prosecuted.
‘Police have a proven track record of locking up those responsible for these reprehensible crimes and the bad actors who manipulate them to do their dirty work,’ Ms Catley said.
‘We do not want to see this violence on our streets.’
