Former Australia Test legend Stuart MacGill was kidnapped and held for ransom by an alleged criminal group in a shocking attack on Sydney’s north shore. He was released an hour later, Australian media reported. New South Wales state police described the victim of the April 14 alleged kidnapping only as a 50-year-old man at gunpoint from Cremorne.
According to police, MacGill was allegedly confronted by a 46-year-old man about 8 pm on April 14. Two other men then allegedly forced MacGill into a vehicle before being driven to a property at Bringelly in Sydney’s southwest. It was there that police allege he was assaulted and threatened with a firearm before being driven to the Belmore area and released around an hour later.
Stuart MacGill kidnapped and ransomed
The incident was reported to the police two days later. MacGill was widely identified as the victim, including in reports by the Australian Broadcasting Corp. and News Corp. newspapers. However, it is still not known whether MacGill was known to the men who kidnapped him.
Detectives from the NSW Robbery and Serious Cime Squad are investigating with police raiding a number of homes in relation to the incident. They have arrested four men and are currently levying charges on them.
“Following extensive investigations, strike force detectives, with assistance from Raptor Squad and the Public Order and Riot Squad, arrested four men – aged 27, 29, 42 and 46 – from 6am today (Wednesday 5 May 2021),” police said in a statement.
“The men were taken to local police stations where charges are expected to be laid. Officers are currently in the process of executing search warrants at homes at Sutherland, Caringbah, Brighton Le-Sands, Banksia and Marrickville,” it added.
A well-known leg-spinner, Stuart MacGill has represented Australia in 44 Tests and three One-Day Internationals. The leg spinner made his Test debut in 1998 and made a statement in 1999 when he out bowled Shane Warne on the tour of West Indies. MacGill retired in 2008 before making a comeback to cricket at the age of 40 in the inaugural 2011 Big Bash League season, playing for the Sydney Sixers.