Second arrest in kidnapping of Chinese student in Markham
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A second suspect faces charges in the terrifying kidnapping for ransom of a 22-year-old man who was grabbed in Markham last month and escaped days later in cottage country.
York Regional Police say the latest suspect in the abduction of Chinese international student Wanzhen Lu was arrested when officers executed a search warrant at a Brampton home Tuesday.
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Hashim Abdullahi, 33, appeared in Newmarket court Wednesday where he was formally charged with kidnapping, forcible confinement, assault with a weapon and assault.
Police have said the victim was with his girlfriend next to his parked high-end vehicles — a Lamborghini, Rolls-Royce and Range Rover — in the underground parking garage of a condo on Water Walk Dr., near Hwy. 7 and Birchmount Rd., when he was abducted shortly before 6 p.m. on March 23.
“Three men, one of whom was armed with a conductive energy weapon (Taser), exited a van and grabbed the victim,” Const. Andy Pattenden reiterated Wednesday.
Lu resisted and was Tasered twice before his hooded abductors managed to force him into the van and drove off. His friend was unharmed.
In the aftermath of the abduction, police worked feverishly to track down the missing man, who comes from a wealthy family in China.
The frightening ordeal ended when Lu turned up three days later at a residential property on Doe Lake Rd., in Gravenhurst, asking a homeowner for help.
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The homeowner told a local media outlet that Lu was wearing only a sweatshirt and jeans when he found him at the end of his driveway around 10 p.m. Lu also reportedly had duct tape on his clothing and cuts to his knees.
The first suspect in the kidnapping was arrested Tuesday after cops issued a Canada-wide warrant for his arrest.
Abdullahi Adan, 37, of Toronto, is also charged with kidnapping, forcible confinement, assault with a weapon and assault. He is expected to appear in Newmarket court on Friday for a bail hearing.
“This investigation is still ongoing,” Pattenden said, explaining police “continue to dedicate significant resources” to find two outstanding suspects who are “considered armed and dangerous.”
cdoucette@postmedia.com On Twitter: @SunDoucette
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