Four in custody as missing kids found ‘safe and well’

Many unanswered questions about why two children in Melbourne’s east siblings were abducted remain as police hone in on this possible clue.

Police are investigating whether a business debt was the motive behind the violent abduction of two children from their home.

Investigators were yet to finalise interviews with all involved parties by Tuesday evening, but one theory being examined is the sibling-snatch related to money allegedly owed by the Blackburn North family.

It is understood the children’s father, 34, owns a construction business and knows one of the four people in custody through that business.

Police rescued Adilla Wally, 5, and brother Bilal, 3, on Monday night after a tense 12-hour operation in which fears for their safety intensified as the day wore on.

A source told the Herald Sun there were many unanswered questions about why the siblings were taken and police had to put absolutely everything into finding them as there was no knowing the kidnapper’s intentions.

The mother, 32, was released from hospital on Tuesday after being treated for a brutal assault in which the kidnapper gagged her and tied her with rope before stealing her kids in the family Mercedes about 8.45am Monday.

Bilal and Adilla Wally were abducted from their Blackburn North home on Monday.

The Mitcham home where the children were found. Picture: David Caird

Commander Mick Frewen on Tuesday said the kidnapping motive was “up in the air” but police don’t think the family was picked at random.

“Clearly this family and the children have been picked out for a reason,” he said. “It’s going to take us a while to better understand what might sit behind by way of vulnerability, what others might see as opportunity. There’s a lot of unanswered questions.”

The family’s Springfield Rd home was re-examined by police on Tuesday, with items including a laptop, men’s runners and a big brown suitcase taken away.

Three men and a woman, aged in their 20s and 30s, were arrested in Mitcham about 7.20pm Monday in a delicate operation led by the special operations group.

Police executed the arrests as the children were being moved from the Cochrane St unit back into the Mercedes. It is unknown if they were going to be moved elsewhere.

It’s believed the kidnapper took the siblings to the unit soon after their abduction.

Neighbours described it as a boarding house with a constant rotation of tenants, ­described as Chinese.

One neighbour heard the rush of police down the driveway before officers yelled “open the door” and “get down”. He said a man loudly cried as he and several others were led away in handcuffs.

Another neighbour saw police carrying the kids to safety, telling them “you’ll be fine now, you’ll be safe now”.

, Adilla Wally (pictured) , and her brother Bilal Wally (not pictured), were abducted from their Blackburn North home on Monday, August 23, 2021. Instagram photo of her from 2020.

Commander Frewen said at no point during the ordeal did the kidnappers contact police or the family with demands.

“I don’t think it was random and I don’t think the community needs to be concerned,” he said. “We don’t think there’s any other people we’re looking for.”

Investigators were held up for a period on Monday because they were unable to find enough Cantonese translators to conduct interviews with the children’s parents.

Commander Frewen said the parents were incredibly grateful for the safe return of their children.

He described the siblings as “docile” at the time of their rescue, adding they were too young to understand what had happened to them.

“The children have displayed resilience well beyond their years, quite upbeat, mum and dad are happy to have them … with them again,” he said. “(The kidnapping is) every parent’s, husband’s, partner’s worst nightmare.”

The investigation is ­ongoing.

Police are trying to piece together the motive for the abduction. Picture: Jason Edwards

COMMANDER’S RELIEF AT CHILDREN’S RESCUE

Commander Frewen said it was a relief to return the two unharmed children to their parents, telling reporters “it doesn’t get any better than this”.

“These are the sort of investigations that get us out of bed every day,” he said.

“From the outset, two children taken — it certainly heightens the senses of any parent, any member of the community and most importantly any investigator.”

He said police “threw every resource we could at it early on” but they struggled with language barriers between the family and officers, and were unable to find enough Cantonese translators.

“Up until yesterday, probably 4pm, we really had quite an incomplete picture of who was involved and what had happened,” he said.

“In the challenging times we find ourselves in at the moment it was really uplifting from a Victoria police perspective to see how many people were really interested and keen to participate in terms of providing information and intelligence to police.”

He said when the Special Operations Groups stormed the Mitcham house — having tracked the children there thanks to “good old-fashioned police work” and “current and emerging capabilities” — the children were being moved into the car.

“It’s a great day for crime command and the investigators in the armed crime squad,” he said.

“When you look back over the course of the day, there were many gaps.

“It was a challenging investigation (and) not a lot was known.

“The result, overall, is a really great one number one first and foremost … for the family.”

The children were found at a Cochrane St home in Mitcham. Picture: David Caird

Earlier, Commander Frewen told 3AW investigators were still trying to piece together the motive for the abduction.

“Over the course of the investigation today and moving forward we’ll probably get a better picture about who’s who in the zoo and whether or not there is any relationship between any of the parties but at this stage we take it as (the family) have been the victims of a terrible crime,” he said.

“The people involved from the offender perspective may have seen for some reason that we’re not sure of yet value in doing this terrible act.

“It really defies belief as to how anyone would think that way.”

Police remain at the Mitcham home where the children were found, with forensics scouring the property for evidence.

A neighbour described the property as a boarding house with a constant turnover of tenants.

Men and women of Chinese heritage live at the property, which has attracted police interest in the past.

A neighbour told the Herald Sun he heard police scream “open the door” and “get down” on Monday night.

He saw multiple people being led away in handcuffs and a man crying.

“It was really quick,” he said. “You really don’t expect something like this in Mitcham.”

Investigators also arrived at the family’s home just before 2pm on Tuesday.

Two officers could be seen examining the single-storey home’s front door before entering the property.

Black fingerprint powder remained on the houses’s front wooden gate, with additional marking visible on the front door.

Detectives collected about four pairs of male and female shoes from the front steps of the home, including a pair of men’s runners.

A laptop was also seized from the bungalow at the side of the home, which appeared to be used as a home office.

The two investigators left the property a short time later carrying bags of evidence and a large brown suitcase.

Police search the Blackburn North home for clues. Picture: Jason Edwards

HOW KIDNAP HORROR UNFOLDED

An enormous manhunt was launched on Monday morning amid grave fears for the children’s safety.

The siblings had been driven from the home in the family’s black 2014 Mercedes-Benz C200 sedan, registration BEQ 882.

Detectives continue to investigate all potential motives, including whether the family had been targeted.

Commander Frewen said the children were not tied up and seemed “quite remarkably docile” when found.

“We were fortunate enough to locate the car through a police patrol and from there we backtracked and identified a couple of people that may be of interest and did some work up on those particular individuals,” he said.

“One of those led us back to the car and accordingly back to another address where a number of people were arrested and we were able to take custody of the children.”

The family’s Mercedes that was stolen. Inset, Adilla, 5, and her brother Bilal, 3.

The children were then reunited with their parents, while their mother was still in hospital receiving treatment for the assault.

“She was so uplifted to have them reunited with both her and her husband last night. They are still traumatised by what’s happened,” Commander Frewen said.

The children were dressed in their pyjamas when a man broke into their Springfield Rd home between 8am and 8.30am.

He tied up the mother with rope and assaulted her before driving off with the kids in the family car at 8.45am.

The car was driven east on Springfield Rd, towards Mitcham.

The children’s father – who works in the building industry – was not home at the time of the terrifying attack.

Police said both he and the children’s mother, aged 32, were co-operating fully with the investigation.

Police outside the Springfield Rd home on Monday. Picture: Jason Edwards

All avenues of inquiry were being explored, including any potential links between the family’s background and the horrific crime.

However Det Insp Thomas said the parents were not known to police and were ­distraught about what had happened.

“There is nothing we’ve been able to find at this point in time but we will continue to speak to the family to try to piece this together,” he said.

The kidnapper was described as having dark skin and wearing a black hooded jumper and a surgical face mask.

Detective Inspector Thomas said the mother did not recognise the man, who was armed with a weapon.

Police did not want to release details about the weapon to the public.

There was limited interaction between the pair, with police also not detailing exactly what was said before the children were taken.

Police comb the area for clues and want drivers to check their dashcams. Picture: Jason Edwards

Inspector Thomas described the kidnapping as “isolated” and that there were no known links with any other crimes in the area.

He added the family had not reported anyone acting suspiciously before the ­abduction.

“The children would be in great fear and obviously wanting to see their mum and dad and be reunited with them as soon as possible,” he said on Monday.

Jane was walking her dog when she saw the mum crying out “my baby, my baby” in the street.

“I tried to understand what she was saying. She was trying to get the tape off her hands. I didn’t have anything on me to do that so pulled out my phone and called police,” she told 3AW.

Local resident Chloe Krakouer described seeing the mother bound and gagged in the driveway.

Ms Krakouer was driving along Springfield Rd when she was overtaken by a police car.

A minute later, she said they drove past the crime scene, where the “hysterical” mother was lying on the driveway next to the ­nature strip.

“Her mouth was bound, her hands were bound and her feet,” Ms Krakouer said.

“She was screaming and there was someone there helping her, and the police had just arrived … It looked like it was a scarf or something (that she was gagged with).”

The witness said the woman’s feet were tied with coloured rope, with police placing a “pink or purple” rope in an evidence bag.

Neighbour Rita Fodor also heard the woman’s screams for help.

“She was in the middle of the driveway, crying and screaming. I couldn’t make out what she was saying,” she said.

“Just hearing her screaming and yelling. She was terrified, really terrified.”

Large numbers of police swarmed the street on Monday, sweeping the area for CCTV footage and collecting items of evidence from the home.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.