Kidnapped woman found

Qing Zhao was bound and gagged and left outside a South Auckland factory.

UPDATE - A woman kidnapped from her East Auckland home yesterday has been found.

Qing Zhao was located outside a factory in Onehunga, Auckland, at 11pm last night.

Police received a phonecall and went to a location where they found Mrs Zhao bound and gagged.

They said no money was paid out. She was reunited with her husband.

Detective Senior Sergeant Neil Grimstone, the officer in charge of the inquiry, said the woman was deeply traumatised by the event but police have yet to establish where she was held.


Mr Grimstone said the family was now under police protection in a secret location in south Auckland. He said police no longer feared for their safety and said they were no longer in any danger from the kidnappers.


"She's been mentally traumatised. She spent from 3am to about 11pm last night as a hostage, completely blindfolded, unaware of where she was," added Detective Senior Sergeant Mark Gutry.


"Mentally she was distraught."


Police said the hunt now begins in earnest for the kidnappers and they were following several leads but would not be specific about any forensic leads they took from the house or the woman's Mini Cooper car.


Three men broke into the Bleakhouse Rd house early yesterday morning and confronted Mrs Zhao and her elderly parents at gunpoint.

After a brief struggle, during which her father was cut with a knife, the men tied up all three.

They later untied the 42-year-old daughter and demanded she escort them through the house as they searched for money and valuables. It was unclear last night whether any were handed over.

The three men, their faces uncovered, then demanded the $1 million ransom.

The men took Qing Zhao at gunpoint from the house, bundled her into her Mini Cooper car and began driving down the driveway.

But as they were leaving, Qing Zhao's husband returned home from SkyCity Casino and saw his wife being taken.

The offenders tried to smash their way into the husband's car, brandishing a knife and pistol.

But he got away by reversing "at speed" down his drive, smashing through security gates and getting away to telephone police.

Mr Grimstone said the husband could have been shot if he had stayed to try to rescue his wife.

The officer said the kidnappers spoke Mandarin. He did not rule out that the crime was gang-related. The family did not know the men.

The couple were originally from mainland China but had been living in Remuera before moving to Mr Grimstone said police were pleased the family had phoned them immediately to report the abduction.

The kidnappers are thought to be aged between 20 and 35.

Two were about 1.7m tall. One was solidly built with short black hair. The other was balding and wore a blue two-tone shirt. There was no description of the third.

Police urge anyone with information to call the hotline 0800 KIDNAP (0800 543-627).

- NEWSTALK ZB, NZPA, HERALD STAFF