Two Sydney men have been charged after allegedly kidnapping and torturing people they believed had large sums of cryptocurrency.
Police said a 26-year-old man and a 24-year-old woman were forced into a vehicle by two men wearing balaclavas near a car park on Court Road, Fairfield about 11:40am on Wednesday, January 18.
They were taken to a location in Swan Bay in the Hunter region where they were allegedly tied to chairs and held captive for 36 hours.
Detective Superintendent Joe Doueihi said ransom demands were made because the alleged offenders falsely believed the pair owned vast quantities of cryptocurrency.
Police allege the man and woman were assaulted by another group of offenders at the Swan Bay location and the man sustained significant injuries when his middle finger was severed with garden shears.
The man and woman escaped just after midnight on Friday, January 20, and contacted a family member who notified NSW Police.
They were taken to John Hunter Hospital and the man had to undergo surgery on his finger.
Two men to face court
A strike force investigation led to search warrants at homes in Smithfield and Cartwright on April 4, and two men, aged 24 and 25, were arrested.
Both men face multiple charges including two counts of take or detain in company with intent to ransom occasioning actual bodily harm.
The older man has also been charged over a separate incident after a Molotov cocktail was allegedly thrown at a Bossley Park home on January 22.
The Bossley Park property is believed to be linked to one of the alleged hostages.
"We will allege these males formed part of a criminal enterprise to abduct the male and female and extort a large sum of money from them," Detective Superintendent Doueihi said.
"These syndicates will go to any length to obtain their funds."
The two men were refused bail at Fairfield Local Court earlier this month and are next due before Parramatta Local Court on May 1.
This is the latest in a recent spate of kidnappings around Sydney.
The Robbery and Serious Crimes Squad have taken action against 10 alleged offenders relating to three separate kidnappings this year.
Detective Superintendent Doueihi said he was confident several syndicates have now been dismantled.
"We are on top of it," he said.
Last month another man was allegedly kidnapped at gunpoint before being tortured for six days in Sydney's south-west.
Police say the 26-year-old man had some of his teeth "forcibly removed" at a home in Belmore by a criminal group attempting to extort money from him and his associates.
Tactical officers rescued the man almost a week after he was allegedly kidnapped, and he was taken to hospital in a stable condition.
Six men, aged 19 to 21, have since been charged.
Detective Superintendent Doueihi said the majority of all arrests relating to recent kidnappings were targeting the "muscle" and police were still trying to track down organisers.
"These organised crime groups have multiple layers of coordination and we are targeting every level of those syndicates," he said.
He said the alleged crimes had a "high level of violence and brutality" and while the victims may not be involved in organised crime, they were associated with members in the syndicates.
