Hong Kong detectives have arrested four Vietnamese refugees suspected of involvement in a million-dollar kidnapping in Australia, where police launched a nationwide hunt for the missing victim yesterday.
Another four Vietnamese were arrested in Melbourne, but police believe Tuan Anh Le, 22, kidnapped 12 days ago, is still being held by other gang members.
Organised Crime and Triad Bureau (OCTB) officers were asked to help after the kidnappers initially requested the ransom, believed to be more than $1 million, be paid in the territory.
OCTB detectives arrested the four refugees during raids at private premises on Saturday as Australian police were detaining four suspects at a Melbourne railway station where the ransom was due to be handed over.
A media blackout covered the kidnapping until yesterday, when police called for nationwide help in the hunt for Mr Le, who is from a wealthy family and believed to be still alive. OCTB Superintendent Xavier Tang Kam-moon said eight other Vietnamese had also been helping with the investigation.
Detective Inspector John Kapetanovski, of Melbourne's Special Response Squad, said: 'There was an embargo because we were worried that media coverage would jeopardise the safety of the victim. But now we have spoken to some suspects and everybody knows what is going on.' Neighbours last spotted Australian citizen Mr Le being chased by two Asian men in the Melbourne suburb of Glen Waverley, and being pushed into the boot of a car at about 12.15 pm on April 29.
