The moment Adam Whittington was reunited with his children after a botched 60 Minutes story

AFTER an emotional reunion with his wife, this is how the man at the centre of the 60 Minutes’ child abduction scandal was reunited with his children.

THIS is the joyful moment Adam Whittington, the man at the centre of the 60 Minutes child-abduction scandal, was reunited with his children after four months in a Beirut jail cell.

The former Australian soldier flew out of the Lebanese capital on Saturday night local time after its Executive Court lifted a travel ban preventing him from leaving.

Mr Whittington, along with his British accomplice Craig Michael and two Lebanese “fixers”, Mohamed Khaled Barbour and Mohammed Hamza, had been in jail since their arrest on April 6 for their roles in the botched child recovery attempt.

Adam Whittington is reunited with his children in Sweden.

Playtime... Adam with his children in Sweden.

Playtime... Adam with his children in Sweden.

The four were detained along with Brisbane mother Sally Faulkner and the Nine Network’s60 Minutes crew, which included star presenter Tara Brown, producer Stephen Rice and production staff David Ballment and Ben Wilkinson.

Mr Whittington was paid $115,000 by 60 Minutesto help Ms Faulkner recover her children Lahela, 5, and Noah, 3, whom she sent to Beirut for a holiday to her estranged husband, Ali Elamine. He failed to return them.

A rumoured $1 million deal was struck by Channel 9 with Mr Elamine, for the 60 Minutesteam and Faulkner to be released on April 20 but Whittington and the other three prisoners remained ­behind bars.

Whittington was released on bail worth $US20,000 ($A26,000) on July 14 but was unable to leave the country until Saturday, when the travel ban was lifted.

Adam Whittington said it is good to be home after he landed in at Stockholm airport and was welcomed by his wife Karin. Picture: Ella Pellegrini

He flew to his home in Sweden on Sunday where he was reunited with his wife Karin at Stockholm airport. The pair decided to surprise their sons Ty and Nelson.

“The boys were at a friend’s house thinking Karin was at work,” Mr Whittington told The Daily Telegraph of the emotional reunion.

“I have a special whistle I use which when the boys hear it they know it’s always me. I went around the back of the friend’s house and stood behind a tree as they played outside and I whistled ... they both froze dead still.

“They saw me and raced to me at full speed. Ty, my 10-year-old, cried a lot ... and said “I love you daddy, I thought you were never coming home”.

“I said, ‘I love you too and I will never leave you boys. To say they were happy is an understatement.

“They never left my side all day until they went to bed. They are sleeping in my bed tonight and probably for the next week.”

The 40-year-old’s mother, Georgina, is also looking forward to seeing her son for the first time in months when he visits her on the Gold Coast some time next month.

“I’m just on top of the world. Because my boy is finally coming home,” she said.