Cricket Player Allegedly Kidnapped and Assaulted at Gunpoint

A former cricket player from Australia was allegedly kidnapped and threatened at gunpoint by at least three men last month. Stuart MacGill was allegedly confronted by a man in a suburb in Sydney, Australia before two men joined and forced MacGill into a car, according to The Sydney Morning Herald. MacGill was reportedly driven 37 miles away from the city's outskirts where he was allegedly threatened and assaulted by a firearm. Before being released by the three men MacGill was driven another 24 miles from the previous location.

MacGill reported the alleged kidnapping on April 20, and on Wednesday police said that four men have been arrested after the investigation. "Robbery and Serious Crime Squad detectives have arrested four men following an investigation into the alleged kidnapping of another man from Sydney's Lower North Shore last month," Sydney police said in a news release. "Following extensive investigations, strike force detectives, with assistance from Raptor Squad and the Public Order and Riot Squad, arrested four men – aged 27, 29, 42 and 46 – from 6am today (Wednesday 5 May 2021). The men were taken to local police stations where charges are expected to be laid."

The four men that were arrested have been identified as Marino Sotiropoulos, 46, Son Minh Nguyen, 42, and brothers Frederick and Richard Schaaf, 27 and 29. The men were taken to a local police station where they were charged with unlawfully taking or detaining someone with intent to gain advantage, causing actual bodily harm. Sotiropoulos was also charged with participating in a criminal group and a drug supply offence relating to two kilograms of cocaine. He is the brother of MacGill's girlfriend Maria O'Meagher.

"Everyone experiences trauma differently," Detective Anthony Holton said. To be standing on a street in Cremorne, to be dragged into a car, driven to a remote location, physically assaulted, threatened with a firearm, held for a period of time and then dumped, I think you'd be pretty worried about your own personal safety and the safety of your family and your friends."

MacGill, 50, was a member of Australia's national cricket team from 1998-2008. In his career, MacGill played in 44 test matches and three One Day Internationals. In domestic cricket, MacGill played for Western Australia, New South Wales, Nottinghamshire and Somerset.