By LIBBY MIDDLEBROOK
Five masked men kidnapped a foreign student at gunpoint from his New Lynn home and held him hostage for thousands of dollars in ransom.
Police are investigating the kidnapping, which ended when the Chinese student's friends paid $7000 for his release.
The student was blindfolded throughout his three-day ordeal and has no idea where he was imprisoned.
His friends did not report the crime because of murder threats against the young man, aged 19 or 20.
Constable Jimmy Jim, of the Asian crime squad, said: "They were told, 'If you don't pay up, your friend will be killed'."
The masked kidnappers burst into the student's home about 11 pm on June 22.
At the time he was with three friends, playing mah-jong and poker.
The intruders, some carrying firearms, tied up the visitors before bundling the student into his Honda Prelude car and making their escape.
Speaking in a Chinese dialect, they demanded cellphone numbers from his visitors to which they made their calls later to demand a ransom.
The police said the hostage takers demanded a substantial amount of money, although only $7000 was paid.
The three friends dropped off the cash at a public place in central Auckland soon after the kidnapping.
The victim, who suffered no physical injuries, was released shortly afterwards and allowed to go in his own car.
Police became involved in the case after being contacted by Interpol, through Chinese police.
The student's parents, said to be modestly wealthy, had reported him missing.
It was too late for the police to stop the ransom being paid, as the cash had already been dropped off.
The kidnappers may have picked their victim because of a public perception that fee-paying Asian students come from wealthy families.
The student, who has since returned home to China, had just completed an English-language course in Takapuna.
Constable Jim said international students were a target for criminals and gangs, who assumed the students had large amounts of money at their disposal.
Gang members sometimes demanded "protection money" from fee-paying students in New Zealand to learn English at secondary schools and tertiary institutions.
"Some of the students do have large amounts of money ... The ones who drive flashy cars are very visible."
Five Asian students were sent home last year after they became involved in gangs.
Ransom paid to free student
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