Woman in court over 'skinhead kidnapping'

A 20-year-old woman appeared in court today charged with kidnapping after a man was bashed and abducted by armed skinheads and dumped on the side of the road near Queenstown.

Rachel Maree Faul, a receptionist from Speargrass Flat, did not enter a plea when she appeared in Queenstown District Court.

The woman, who will reappear on Thursday morning, faces charges of aggravated wounding, kidnapping and reckless driving.

Police said this afternoon that they were speaking to a second person, believed to have been present at the attack, but gave no further details.

They did reveal, however, that the man's 23-year-old girlfriend was also attacked in the incident.

On Saturday morning a 28-year-old Queenstown man was attacked before being bundled into a car by armed and masked men and driven to Arrowtown where he was dumped on the side of the road.

Detective Sergeant Brian Cameron of Queenstown police said man was encouraged to meet a person he knew at an intersection, where he was set upon by the group of men, most of them wearing balaclavas.

Two of the group were believed to have been carrying a machete and a meat cleaver.

The victim was then subjected to "a sustained and brutal attack by the group, with a bladed weapon held to his throat, before he was bundled into the rear of the Toyota car and driven from the scene at high speed".

The vehicle stopped in Arrowtown where the man was thrown out and left on the road.

He was taken to Queenstown Lakes District Hospital with a suspected concussion, abrasions and severe bruising.

The offenders have been described as all being relatively tall and slim with 'skinhead' style haircuts. They are all believed to be of European descent.

One of the men, who did not wear a balaclava, was wearing a black T-Shirt with the word "Misfits" written across the front and was described as clean shaven.

Another of the group was described as wearing a red balaclava and was believed to have been carrying the meat cleaver while the others were wearing black balaclavas.

Police believe the group travelled to the scene in a car seen in the immediate vicinity in the minutes preceding the attack.

It is believed this car parked a short way up the hill on the Crown Range Road where police recovered another car, as well as a "number of items of significant forensic value to the enquiry".

Mr Cameron urged anyone with information about the incident to contact police.

"This was a premeditated and cowardly attack with the victim effectively ambushed and given no opportunity to defend himself. I would expect that the community will be as shocked as police that such a violent incident should take place and will join with police in identifying these thugs and bringing them to justice".

"These people will likely have bragged to someone about their actions or it may be that the description of the T-shirt, emblazoned with the word "Misfits", rings a bell - regardless, if you have any information that may lead to the identification of those responsible for this attack, police want to hear from you."