Group of men extradited over alleged extortion attempt

Yahoo

5 hours ago

Four men have been extradited after travelling interstate and allegedly holding two people hostage for hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Police say a group of seven men linked to organised crime travelled from Sydney to Queensland's Sunshine Coast in April 2025 to surveil a 27-year-old man and a 29-year-old woman.
The group and the 27-year-old man were known to each other, according to police.
"It will be alleged that they were in a business operation, and that crime group believed that a debt (was) owed to them by this male person," Detective Inspector Chris Toohey told reporters on Monday.
The group allegedly broke into a Sunshine Coast home on April 10 and took the man and woman to another apartment in Maroochydore, where they were held hostage for hours.
The pair were allegedly threatened with violence if they did not pay hundreds of thousands of dollars, but were not injured.
"From our investigations, they were going to be held until they paid up the sum of money they required," Det Insp Toohey said.
Police were alerted to the incident when concerned friends and family members reported the man and woman missing.
When specialist police arrived, five men fled the scene as officers rescued the man and woman.
Two men both aged 30 were arrested at the scene and later charged with deprivation of liberty and extortion with intent to gain benefit with threat of detriment.
NSW Police's Raptor Squad executed search warrants on Thursday morning across Sydney's western suburbs where they arrested four men aged 27 to 32.
The four men were extradited to Queensland on Friday, charged with deprivation of liberty and extortion with intent to gain benefit with threat of detriment.
A fifth man will be extradited at a later date due to unrelated medical issues.
The four men faced Brisbane Magistrates Court on Monday.
Det Insp Toohey believes police have arrested all those responsible.