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Kidnapped trio lured to Hong Kong by bogus property deal
PUBLISHED : Wednesday, 30 October, 2013, 5:53pm
UPDATED : Wednesday, 30 October, 2013, 5:53pm
Clifford Lo and Niall Fraser
Three men kidnapped last weekend in Hong Kong were released at Chek Lap Kok Airport on Monday after their abductors discovered they had been tailed by police. Photo: Dickson Lee.
The key target of a failed international kidnap-for-ransom bid that played out in Hong Kong last weekend was an Indian businessman and political leader lured here by the bogus promise of a lucrative property deal.
The businessman, surnamed Khera - who is also the leader of a Sikh political group in the Punjab region of India – arrived in Hong Kong last week with his lawyer, surnamed Dhillon and his bank manager, surnamed Mavi.
The trio were abducted within hours of their arrival and then held at gun point over three days as their captors demanded a HK$19 million ransom or they would be killed, according to police sources.
Aged 35, 48 and 55, the three men were released at Chek Lap Kok Airport on Monday and are now understood to be under police protection, with one of the kidnap gang still at large.
Senior police officers involved in the investigation on Wednesday described the plot as “well-planned’’ and revealed that two more alleged abductors had been arrested, taking the total number of arrests in connection with the case to four after the earlier arrest of a 27-year-old man in Hong Kong and a 28-year-old man in India. The 28-year-old man is believed to have travelled to the SAR with the victims then returned to India to collect the ransom money from their families.
Hong Kong police are still hunting for one more man in connection with the abductions.
One police source said no ransom money was paid in the incident: “Investigations show that an Indian businessman was offered a bogus investment and was lured to Hong Kong to finalise a deal,” the source said, adding: “He then came to Hong Kong with his lawyer and a bank manager.”
The three victims, who travelled together, were picked up by the gang at the airport upon their arrival from India on Saturday. They were understood to have offered accommodation on Lantau Island
“Their ordeal began the following day when they were driven to a hut in Sheung Shui, where they were held at gunpoint and then tied up,” the source said.
“They were detained in the hut and guarded by a group of Asian men armed with choppers and a pistol-like object.”
The source said a ransom demand of HK$19 million was made to the businessman’s family in India.
An international operation between Hong Kong and Indian police has launched after Indian authorities were alerted.
Another police source said the three captives were kicked out of a delivery van at Chek Lap Kok airport on Monday afternoon after the abductors discovered they had been tailed by police.
This source said the three victims suffered minor injuries and their cash and valuables were also stolen.
A few hours after their release, a 27-year-old man was arrested in Tin Shui Wai. Two men, aged 38 and 35, were later arrested in Kwai Chung and North District respectively on Tuesday night.
According to police, the three alleged kidnappers are of South Asian origin. The three men were still being questioned by detectives in Tai Po last night. A senior police officer close to the investigation said an array of serious charges were likely. The remaining member of the kidnap gang is a male, thought to be aged between 40 and 45, of South Asian extraction, 1.78 metres tall, and of medium build with short hair.
Co-operation is ongoing with the authorities in India.
The 27-year-old suspect is facing kidnap and robbery charges and was being questioned in Tai Po police station last night.
A group of Indian businessmen have been freed after being kidnapped in Hong Kong and held at gunpoint for three days.
The three men - travelling together on a business trip - were abducted within hours of their arrival on Saturday and a ransom demand of HK$19 million was made by the abductors to their families in India.
They were taken to a hideout in the northern New Territories and guarded by a gang armed with a firearm and choppers.
The abduction, which sparked a rare international police operation over the weekend, ended with their release.
A 27-year-old man of Indian descent was arrested in Hong Kong and another man, aged 28, is being held by the police in India. Police are hunting the remaining members of the gang.
Details of the international effort to release the captives, aged 35, 48 and 55, are being kept under wraps but sources have told the South China Morning Post that they were driven to Chek Lap Kok airport on Monday and set free.
Sources close to the investigation - which like all kidnap cases was highly secretive in order to protect the victims - said all three businessmen suffered injuries during their captivity but were able to be interviewed by police.
It is understood no ransom money was paid but the gang took the victims' cash and valuables before they were freed.
The 27-year-old suspect is facing kidnap and robbery charges and was being questioned in Tai Po police station last night.
Detectives from the New Territories North regional crime unit are now leading the hunt for the rest of the kidnap gang - all believed to be of South Asian origin.
"The victims were threatened and held by five to six South Asian men armed with choppers and what appeared to be a pistol. It was well-planned and obviously had an international dimension to it," a police source said.
The source confirmed a HK$19 million ransom demand had been delivered to the families in India.
Hong Kong police sought assistance from the Indian authorities through the force's Liaison Bureau, a move a senior police officer described as "rare''.
Last week, China and India signed a defence co-operation accord to avert potential stand-offs in their disputed border areas as they vowed not to let the row overshadow ties.
In April last year, four men bungled an attempt to kidnap billionaire Florence Tsang Chiu-wing's mother and four-year-old daughter outside the ESF International Kindergarten (Hillside) in Wan Chai.
They were forced to abandon the girl and her 60-year-old grandmother in a seven-seater vehicle after they were unable to start the engine.
