Kidnapped Sydney jeweller said ‘I beg you get me out of here’

A Sydney jeweller was kidnapped and is believed to have been shot through the leg in an extraordinary attack during which he was recorded begging “I’ll pay whatever it is, please I beg you get me out of here”.

A screenshot of the video in which the jeweller pleads for his release.

A Sydney jeweller was kidnapped and is believed to have been shot through the leg in an extraordinary attack during which he was recorded begging “I’ll pay whatever it is, please I beg you get me out of here”.

The Daily Telegraph understands the man from south west Sydney was grabbed early Thursday morning near his home and endured the shocking ordeal overnight before a large ransom was paid and he was released early Friday morning.

Police are aware of the kidnapping and spoke to the victim after he was released but he is not cooperating.

A video recording obtained by The Telegraph captures the businessman pleading with his connections to do whatever it takes to get him released.

“Whatever it is you can get off them, tell them I’ll pay them after. I’ll pay whatever it is, please I beg you get me out of here please,” he is heard saying.

A screenshot of the recording in which the victim pleads to his connections.

Underworld sources say the man has some heavy contacts and there are fears those close to him could retaliate.
There is no suggestion the jeweller is himself involved in any criminal activity.

The Telegraph has been told by multiple underworld sources the man was shot in the leg.

On Sunday, NSW Police were unclear if that was the case.

“Police commenced inquiries after receiving information relating to the disappearance of a ... man from Sydney’s southwest on Thursday,” the statement said.

“Those inquiries revealed the man had been kidnapped before being returned home.

“The man, who appeared to be uninjured, was subsequently sighted by police in the early hours of Friday.

“Investigations into the incident continue.”

The man was urging his connections to do whatever it took to get him out.

The Telegraph understands the kidnapper threatened to cut off the man’s fingers, and worse, if their demands were not met.

One NSW Police officer told The Telegraph “this is not uncommon for people who are [known to those] in the underworld to be targeted for kidnappings or their family members even if they are not directly involved in major crime networks”.

They said it was difficult to investigate when the victim did not cooperate.

Senior police and underworld sources said kidnapping for large ransoms was a practice on the rise in recent years.

“But the public, and even the cops never hear about them,’’ one underworld source said.

A report by the NSW Crime Commission stated that in 2020-21: “the incidence of kidnappings and extortion has continued, and is expected to remain a feature of organised crime in the future”.

Michael Haddad (right) was allegedly kidnapped in 2020. Pictured with his father Marwan Haddad. Picture: Christian Gilles / NCA NewsWire

Last year Michael Haddad, a member of the Ibrahim family, was snatched from a unit block in Ryde and held for three days while his alleged kidnappers asked for $5 million in an incident unrelated to what occurred last week.

Pictures of the 21-year-old were taken of him in an empty room, hands and ankles tied up and a blindfold around his eyes.

The images were accompanied with the threat that his fingers would be cut off.

Three men have since been charged.