Police in Australia have arrested two men for the alleged kidnapping and murder of a grandfather who was believed to have been taken from his home in a case of mistaken identity.
New South Wales police said they discovered human remains connected to the case of Chris Baghsarian, 85, a widower and grandfather who was forcibly taken from his North Ryde residence just before 5am on 13 February.
Police said it was a case of mistaken identity as he was not the intended target of the kidnapping. The kidnappers were likely aiming for a relative of Sydney businessman Dimitri Stepanyan, a convicted armed robber with alleged ties to the Alameddine crime family, local media reported.
On Wednesday, police arrested two men – one 29-year-old and the other 24-year-old – from two separate locations and took them for questioning.
“Following extensive inquiries, about 6.30am today, strike force detectives – with assistance from Raptor Squad – executed two search warrants in Kenthurst and Castle Hill,” NSW police said in a statement.
“They have been taken to Riverstone Police Station, where inquiries continue.”
No charges have been brought against the men yet, police said.
Police launched an immediate and large-scale search after CCTV footage captured a group of masked men bundling him into an SUV. Authorities said Baghsarian and his family did not have any links with organised crime groups and they “a million percent confident” it was a case of mistaken identity.
Pictures and videos of an injured Baghsarian circulated online, with family raising fears over the ordeal.
Footage circulating in Sydney’s underworld reportedly showed Baghsarian tied up and seriously injured.
“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,” the family said in a statement after the kidnapping.
In the days following the abduction, police located a burnt-out grey Toyota Corolla, which had cloned Victorian plates (DVT 007) but was believed to be stolen.
The car was seen in Glenorie on the night of 14 February and later in Pitt Town at 9.05pm, before being set alight in Westmead on 16 February.
Forensic evidence inside the car connected it to a derelict property in Dural, which police believe was used as a makeshift stronghold by the kidnappers.
