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A family member of former Australian Test cricketer Stuart MacGill says the spin bowler is safe but still frightened following a terrifying ordeal where he was allegedly kidnapped.
On Wednesday, news broke that the 50-year-old had been allegedly kidnapped from outside his home on Sydneyâs lower north shore by four men including the brother of his partner.
Stuart MacGill was allegedly kidnapped by four men.
âStuart is safe,â the family member, who had spoken to MacGill since the incident and spoke on condition of anonymity, told the
Herald.
The family member added they were still frightened following the incident, but would continue to support MacGill in his recovery.
He was allegedly driven to a property at Bringelly, more than 60 kilometres away in the city’s south-west, where three men assaulted him and threatened him with a firearm. Police say the men were seeking money from MacGill but none was handed over.
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About an hour later, MacGill was driven to the Belmore area, about 40 kilometres away, and dumped by his alleged kidnappers.
MacGill then hid for some time at a motel instead of returning to his apartment in Cremorne and reported the incident to local police six days later, a delay police have attributed to the “significant fear” the alleged perpetrators had instilled in him.
âNot involved in any other backstoryâ: Police say MacGill did not owe alleged kidnappers a debt
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Throughout his international cricketing career, spin bowler Stuart MacGill was always known as an enigmatic character.
In a dressing room where beers flowed freely, MacGill was a wine connoisseur. On Australiaâs 1998 tour of Pakistan he got through 24 books.
Stuart MacGill was allegedly kidnapped by four men
But how the 50-year-old came to be an alleged kidnapping victim, taken from outside his home on Sydneyâs lower north shore, allegedly by four men including the brother of his girlfriend, has left those who know him stunned.
Marino Sotiropoulos, 46, the brother of MacGill’s partner Maria O’Meagher, was on Wednesday charged with a series of offences, including unlawfully detaining someone, causing actual bodily harm, participation in a criminal group, and a commercial drug supply charge in relation to 2 kilograms of cocaine. Two brothers – Richard Schaaf, 29, who police believe is a Comanchero bikie associate, and Frederick Schaaf, 27 – were charged for the unlawful detention of MacGill and alleged participation in a criminal group from April 1 until their arrest. Son Minh Nguyen, 42, was charged over the alleged kidnapping and for directing the criminal group’s activities. Court documents show that the timing of the group’s activities overlaps with Sotiropoulos’ alleged drug offending, which police have alleged also started on April 1.