Updated ,first published
Detectives have searched a property on Sydney’s north-west fringe believed to have been used as a “stronghold” by kidnappers who snatched an elderly man from his home a week ago in a suspected case of mistaken identity.
Chris Baghsarian, 85, has been held hostage since February 13, when up to three men abducted him from his North Ryde home about 5am. Police have repeatedly said neither Baghsarian, a widower who lived alone, nor his family is linked to organised crime and believe he was kidnapped mistakenly.
Police have issued several direct pleas to the kidnappers to return Baghsarian, who requires daily medical treatment and medication, but have not been able to locate the 85-year-old or his kidnappers.
On Thursday night, detectives working under Strike Force Chobat searched a property at Dural, north-west of Sydney, that they believe Baghsarian’s kidnappers had used as a “makeshift stronghold”. Baghsarian was not found at the Wildthorn Avenue property, which has been declared a crime scene, and no arrests have been made.
Police have not publicly identified who they believe Baghsarian’s captors intended to kidnap, but are investigating whether the abduction is linked to an associate of the Alameddine crime network whose family lives on the same street as Baghsarian.
“Distressing” video and images of Baghsarian’s severe injuries were circulated throughout Sydney’s underworld in the days after his abduction. In them, Baghsarian is pictured wearing the flannelette shirt and grey tracksuit pants he was wearing when he was taken. Detectives have been working to determine the legitimacy of the images.
In a statement issued through NSW Police on Tuesday, Baghsarian’s family said it was “living through a nightmare we never thought possible”.
“Chris’ kidnapping feels surreal, and we are struggling to make sense of the fact that he has been taken and that our family has been caught up in something that has nothing to do with us.”
Baghsarian’s family said he was deeply loved and a devoted father, brother, uncle and grandfather.
“The kindest person we know – someone who would never hurt a fly,” the family said.
Detective Acting Superintendent Andrew Marks, the acting commander of the robbery and serious crime squad, on Tuesday said no ransom demands had been made to Baghsarian’s family, which had not been in contact with the 85-year-old’s kidnappers.
Messages, purportedly between Baghsarian’s captors and his family and published by SCN Worldstar, an independent media channel focused on Sydney’s underworld, appear to show ransom demands being made.
