Police say a man was kidnapped at gunpoint before being tortured for six days in Sydney's south-west until tactical officers rescued him last night.
The man, 26, was allegedly assaulted and had some of his teeth "forcibly removed" at a home in Belmore by a criminal group intending to extort him or his associates.
Six men, aged 19 to 21, have now been charged with offences including aggravated break and enter, causing grievous bodily harm and detain in company with intent to ransom.
It is alleged members of the group broke into a house on Brennan Street, Smithfield about 5:20am last Thursday and forced their target into a waiting car.
Police say the men were wearing dark clothing, masks and gloves, with some armed with a firearm and sledgehammer.
Detective Superintendent Jo Doueihi, commander of the Robbery and Serious Crime Squad, said officers had been working "around the clock" to track the hostage down.
Strike Force Kkuoa was formed, and about 5:15pm on Tuesday, police stormed a Belmore property within 30 minutes of it being identified as the location the man was being held.
"He'd been bound, tied up, had his face covered, sustained numerous injuries, facial injuries, and had his teeth forcibly removed," Detective Superintendent Doueihi said.
A 19-year-old man was arrested after being found inside the Belmore home when police arrived.
Two 20-year-olds were stopped in a vehicle nearby, one allegedly in possession of a firearm, and were arrested.
Detective Superintendent Doueihi said another 19-year-old man was arrested in Belmore, while a further two men — 19 and 21 — were arrested in Mays Hill.
All six men were due to face court on Wednesday.
"We will allege in court that these men were part of a criminal enterprise to extort a large amount of money from this man and this man's associates," he said.
"We will further allege that the group repeatedly assaulted and tortured the man over a six-day period."
He said the alleged victim was not known to police and had only "very minor" traffic offences on his record.
The man was taken to hospital in a stable condition.
"As soon as our police were able to identify the location in Belmore, our highly-trained tactical operations unit went into operation and stormed the location in order to save this hostage from any further injury."
"Our investigation is continuing into why and how this male was abducted and the motive behind that.
"It's a very serious crime, the level of violence that was displayed is extreme."
Detective Superintendent Doueihi said motives for the alleged abduction are unclear and investigations are ongoing.
