Two men held hostage, bashed in alleged Sydney kidnap plot

For two days, two young men were allegedly held hostage and assaulted over a debt, with their alleged kidnappers demanding a ransom of almost half a million dollars to secure one of the men’s release.

After a months-long investigation, NSW Police detectives have now arrested four men, Wenqiang Zeng, 23, David Wildsmith, 37, Lun Weng, 28, and Liannan Zheng, 29, over their alleged involvement in the alleged plot.

Police were first made aware of the kidnapping in November last year after one of the alleged victims, a 24-year-old man, contacted his father in Taiwan, informing him he was being held hostage and his captors were demanding the equivalent of around $480,000 to secure his release.

The Taiwanese consulate referred the reported kidnapping to NSW Police, and after initial inquiries revealed that a second man, 26, was allegedly being held hostage, the robbery and serious crime squad established Strike Force Brackley to investigate.

It is unclear what the alleged debt was related to or if the two alleged victims knew each other.

In a dawn raid on November 12, a day after receiving Taiwanese authorities’ referral, strike force detectives swooped on an Ermington property where the alleged victims were being held. Police believe the 26-year-old man had been held at another location in western Sydney before being moved to the Ermington address.

There, they arrested Zeng, who was taken to Gladesville police station and charged with two counts of taking or detaining a person in company with intent to ransom occasioning actual bodily harm. He did not apply for bail at his most recent court appearance and is expected to face Burwood Local Court on Wednesday.

A month later, strike force detectives arrested Wildsmith outside a Surry Hills office, charging him with using an unauthorised pistol, several kidnapping offences, and not disclosing the identity of a driver or passenger as required. Wildsmith, who also did not apply for bail at his most recent court appearance, is expected to face Burwood Local Court alongside Zeng on Wednesday.