Man allegedly kidnapped, thrown in car and forced to drive across Australia

A man was allegedly kidnapped by a group of four young men, bashed and forced to travel more than 1000 kilometres, sparking a major interstate police operation.

The alleged abduction began in a car park outside an Adelaide Mexican restaurant and ended near Goulburn, NSW, with the then-59-year-old only managing to escape after seeking help at a petrol station, a court has heard.

Documents released as Kitione Mahe, 21, was granted strict bail in the NSW Supreme Court allege he and three co-accused threatened to harm the complainant and his wife if he defied the group’s orders.

The frightening ordeal allegedly began when the youths first met with the older man in the car park of the Zambrero restaurant in Reynella, South Adelaide, on April 2.

Police say the co-accused and alleged victim had not met before this meeting, which was organised “in relation to a payment of $40,000 to $50,000 in exchange for cryptocurrency from the [alleged] victim’s friend ‘Craig’,” the fact sheet reads.

The next day, the group met again at the car park. One alleged assailant expressed frustration about the outstanding money, and the older man reportedly reassured him it would clear soon, before the group dispersed.

However, at about 10pm, the group’s patience allegedly ran out.

It is alleged that as the older man got into his parked Lexus sedan at his Adelaide home, a shadowy figure emerged, pushing him hard and telling him to exit the car. The older man saw all four men from the Zambrero carpark meeting standing there, and was allegedly forced to unlock his phone and transfer $2600 to an account with the reference “fk ya self”.

Police claim he was pushed into the back of his Lexus and punched by Mahe and others. He was told to go with them “back to Sydney until this is all sorted,” the documents state, but he refused to.

One of Mahe’s co-accused allegedly said he had “two options, either come with us or we beat the shit out of you and we will pay a visit to your wife”.

In fear, the older man got back into his Lexus with one co-accused, while the others drove a Mercedes-Benz, police claim.

A few hours later, the older man saw a chance to seek help.

Police say that about 1am on April 4, as the cars stopped at the Shell Reddy Express service station at Tailem Bend, 85 kilometres south-east of Adelaide, he left his car under the guise of buying the group cigarettes.

He asked an attendant to call the police, saying he had been taken against his will.

He returned to the Lexus and police were contacted, prompting an investigation between SA and NSW Police.

Three hours later, the older man pulled over and told the others he couldn’t drive any longer. He got out and was allegedly pushed to the ground and kicked. Another man is accused of showing his fist and threatening: “Are you going to keep whining or do you want one of these.” Feeling afraid, the complainant returned to the car.

Over the next several hours, speed cameras reportedly captured both cars “travelling at speed” along various NSW roads.

‘The victim feared that he or his family would be significantly harmed if he did not comply.’

NSW Police fact sheet

About 3:30pm on April 4 – roughly 18 hours since the alleged kidnapping – highway patrol officers intercepted the Mercedes near Breadalbane, south of Goulburn. About $10,000 was found on the two men in the car, along with the alleged victim’s phone and five other phones. Both men were arrested.

Shortly after, police intercepted the Lexus on the Hume Highway near Yarra. Mahe was allegedly in the front passenger seat, with a co-accused driving and the 59-year-old man in the back. In the boot, police allegedly found 260 grams of methamphetamine and 456 grams of cocaine.

“Police submit [Mahe] participated in a joint criminal enterprise … [and] caused grave fears for the victim’s wellbeing and safety,” the fact sheet reads.

“The victim feared that he or his family would be significantly harmed if he did not comply with the demands of the accused and his co-accused. The accused willingly participated in the above incidents and at no time permitted the victim to leave and made no attempt to assist the victim.”

The 59-year-old was allegedly left with facial injuries and “significant pain to his ribs and chest.”

In Mahe’s bail hearing, his lawyer, Ben Barrack, described the prosecution case as “problematic”, challenging the complainant’s failure to provide the surname of his friend “Craig” for whom he was allegedly doing the cryptocurrency deal, and suggesting an undisclosed reason for the initial meeting.

The judge responded that even if questions remained about the meeting’s circumstances, “they [still] threw him in the back of the car and drove him to NSW – what difference does it make?”

Barrack said that any dishonesty could indicate wider credibility issues.

The defence also questioned whether the man was consistently held against his will as he was not physically restrained.

Crown solicitor Adam Barnes argued the older man continued to drive because he was allegedly told to do so or they would “pay a visit” to his wife.

The judge accepted that “aspects of the narrative in the statement of facts suggests that perhaps the whole story isn’t being told”, but noted it was still an “extremely serious offence”.

Mahe was granted bail with strict conditions, including home detention, daily police reporting, no contact with witnesses, alcohol and drug abstention, technology restrictions and no international travel.

He has not yet pleaded to one count of kidnapping while causing actual bodily harm and faced Goulburn Local Court last Wednesday, where charge certification was adjourned until October 22.

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