Four arrested for alleged kidnapping of former Australian cricket star

Sydney, Australia, May 5 (EFE).- Australian authorities arrested four people on Wednesday for the alleged armed kidnapping of former national cricketer Stuart MacGill last month in Sydney.

The alleged kidnapping occurred on the night of Apr. 14 in the affluent suburb of Cremorne, New South Wales Police reported in a statement.

Although police did not give details about the victim, local media reported that it was MacGill, 50, who played for the Australian national team between 1998 and 2008 and once regarded as one of the top spinners in the world.

After being “confronted” by a man at an intersection in Cremorne, the ex-athlete was forced into a vehicle by two other individuals and taken to a property in the west of the city, where he was allegedly assaulted and threatened with a firearm, according to the police statement.

An hour after this incident, which was reported to the police six days later and involved another unknown male at the property, MacGill was released on a street in southwest Sydney.

After investigating the alleged kidnapping of MacGill, who is currently the general manager of a restaurant and appears on television cooking shows, the police on Wednesday arrested four men, whose ages range between 27 and 46 years.

They were taken to local police stations where charges are expected to be laid, and as investigations continue.

National broadcaster ABC recalled that MacGill sued Cricket Australia in 2015 for AU$2.6 million ($2 million) for failing to pay him injury payments after retiring in 2008, although the parties later reached a confidential agreement. EFE

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